The Halls Have Eyes
by Ruler of Destiny
Summary: Any trauma caused due to the lack of a sense of humor is not the fault of Tenchi Academy, its Kaicho, the staff members, students, or members of the guard. Kindly return all remaining remnants of dignity to their rightful owner. Sincerely, Shizuku Miyamoto
1. Incident in the Dorms

**~Car~**

Leaning her head against the cold glass of the window, she watched the trees pass by with a speed even she envied. The familiar forest was currently only a messy blur of moonlight tinted green and black as the car sped down the road. Jodo, her guard/driver for the trip, was practically humming with excitement. Despite the oddity of her heading to the school out of uniform, and at such a late hour, the strangest thing about this all was that Hitsugi wasn't with them.

What had been so urgent that she was out near midnight, sans Kaicho, on her way to the dorms? She dwelled on the question as she watched the distant lights grow larger. "Urgent" might not be the right word but Benibachi _had _called saying that there was some sort of commotion at the dorms and that assistance would be appreciated. Well, that's what she assumed was the point of the call. It had been somewhat difficult to hear over the loud arguing and clashing of students running amok in the background. The real message had sounded more or less like "The rubble's acid gecko tear." Or something.

It had taken two minutes of staring at her phone with an expression usually reserved for the aftermath of Kaicho created chaos, and a failed attempt at deciphering the rambles, for her to decide that it _may _be a good idea to check things out. The random screams in the background that punctuated the call were a little worrying, after all. Fortunately, they had seemed to be screams of outrage rather than pain, so the situation couldn't have been _too _dire. Though she had to concede that with Tenchi students, the former preceded the latter with alarming frequency.

Within a few short minutes she was dressed and ready to go, informing a insistent maid that no, she didn't need to wake Hitsugi-san and no, she wasn't hungry again, and yes, she would grab a hooded jacket in case it rained, and no, she _really_ didn't need warm milk and cookies set out for her. When the car arrived she was more than happy to leave. Ichihara-san was very diligent in her care of the two girls under her charge and could be very insistent if matters of their health were in question.

"A vice president's work knows no time limits, huh? Lucky for you we ended up not having training tonight. You wouldn't be so happy to be here then." She hummed and wrinkled her nose. Jodo tapped his fingers on the wheel in time with the song.

"I'm not sure it is urgent, actually. I couldn't understand anything on the phone, but I figured it would probably be better to go check anyway." she said, scratching the back of her neck. "And don't jinx me. I wouldn't put it past the Captain to call a double practice tomorrow to make up for it." she sighed, cracking a smile at her fellow guard's barking laugh.

"Like she needs an excuse to do _that._ She certainly enjoys making us struggle. Remember last week's survival training from hell?" They both took a moment to grimace in remembered pain. "Speaking of enjoyment, where's the little princess? I thought she liked these kinds of things." he asked. She stared at him, then they both snorted. That was putting it lightly.

"She's sleeping. I'm not even sure what the problem is, just that it was loud. No point bothering her with something like that this late. If the incident is troubling enough to warrant an official reprimand from Hitsugi-san, then I'll send them to her in the morning." She tried to laugh, but this late at night, she just didn't have the energy. It turned into a sigh instead. Problems at Tenchi were rarely ever simple, to say nothing of the current Amachi in charge.

"Right." He smirked at her. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that it would only be more troublesome to throw a sadistic Kaicho in the mix, potentially tripling your unavoidable headache?" She choked, surprised that he caught on to her line of thinking.

"I don't... know what you're talking about." she huffed unconvincingly, turning a light shade of pink. Sinking lower in her seat, she looking away somewhat guiltily. He didn't have to _smirk_ like that. "She was really tired today! She didn't even hear her phone go off."

"Relax, relax. I didn't mean it." he laughed. "Mostly." He smirked at her pout. "Even _that_ one needs to take a break. She's just like the Captain, never passes up an opportunity to have a little fun with her underlings. When those two get together, the world cries."

"I'm a little worried that she fell asleep so early. I know she's been training a little more lately, since there's been a lull in paperwork after the last event. She's been getting anxious without the extra work to keep her occupied." Shizuku sighed. This happened every so often, but Hitsugi would always shrug off her concerns.

"She'll be fine. It's good for her body to act like a normal person's once in a while. Gives the rest of us a breather."

"Haha. Maybe so. She usually starts to avoid paperwork to wander the school after she recharges though."

"Plan for it later. We're here. Time to put on our authority faces." Jodo announced happily, eyeballing the brightly lit windows with all the glee of a child being told that Christmas would be coming a few months early. With twice as many presents. The sound of arguing voices escaped from open windows on the third floor, a small sign of the battle within. Random objects flew out of one particular window with startling speed, and after careful inspection she was glad to note that the window had been left open rather destroyed in the stuggle.

She found herself drawing her shoulders back and donning her "mask" before she could stop herself. It was practically instinct now. No matter what technical "authority" she had, she was still a child to society, and few adults took well to being ordered around by one, much less high school girls who saw her as a peer. She had once been told that if she _acted _confident, eventually she would _become _confident.

Okay, so the actual advice had been more along the lines of "the more people listen to you, the more confident you'll be," but the general principle was the same. In any case, it had been effective in instilling confidence in her, sort of. More than once, Hitsugi-san had half-seriously commented on her self-confidence when addressing teachers and staff, while simultaneously lamenting that it couldn't be transferred to the rest of her personality.

She was never sure how to take those kinds of remarks.

"Are you going to wait here, or come join the chaos?" she asked unnecessarily. Jodo had likely traded a debt or two for this opportunity. The Captain had a habit of randomly "testing" the alertness of those on duty, so any reason _not _to be in the vicinity of the manor was a prize in itself. Besides, problems at the school were guaranteed to be amusing for any sadistic-minded bystanders.

"And leave you to the mercy of a wild gaggle of pubescent drama queens?" Jodo laughed as they stepped out of the car and into the chilly spring air. "What kind of man would I be if I did that?"

The way he eagerly smiled as he opened the main door for her, bowing comically, made her grin wryly, amusement shining in her eyes. "Gaggle?" They shared a quick laugh before falling into their roles. Guards were supposed to be serious after all, and she didn't want anyone to think she was _happy_ to be there. One Hitsugi was enough as far as the students were concerned. If she started showing signs of that particular brand of lunacy, they might just all decide to revolt. Her partner might enjoy such an event should it actually happen, but she was certain _she_ wouldn't.

The dorm they walked into was alive with activity, pajama clad girls running around or standing in their doorways curiously. Several groups were arguing fervently, others were crowded together to gossip, and some lone students watched it all with varying mixtures of excitement, amusement, or annoyance. She spotted a struggling Kurogane being dragged back down the hall by her angry roommate. It was the taller one that first noticed her arrival.

"Miyamoto-san! Finally, someone _sane _'round here. This whole mess is up on the third floor, in case yer wonderin'. Good. Luck." With that, she stomped into her room, ignoring her friend's protests.

"But I want to look too! Oh, hey Miyamoto-san! Did you come to look at-" The door slammed, cutting off the girl's question. The rest of the loiterers heard her name being called, and promptly vanished. Jodo whistled in appreciation as they watched the area clear within seconds, the once noisy hall now completely quiet. Curious eyes watched her from the safety of their doorway as she made her way into the building.

"Creepy." Jodo muttered under his breath. Privately, she agreed. Those eyes were already glowing with anticipation. Turn out the lights, and the dorm would be transformed into a setting for a cliché horror movie. It would be called "The Halls Have Eyes." It would involve stalking and psychological drama and have horribly overdone acting at the direction of Hitsugi-san.

Luckily for her peace of mind, the students were _not _homicidal stalkers. Insane, yes, but not homicidal. And, okay yes, there were _some_ who had stalkerish tendencies. But that was beside the point.

A lot of the regular students she often worked with smiled before ducking back into their rooms. The third and second year office aides waved and offered a sarcastic "good luck," watching until she reached the end of the hall. The sword bearers, she noticed, were more likely to nod respectfully. Naturally, her position in the hoshitori hierarchy meant that she didn't often spend time around the sword bearers outside the student council or Kamijou-san, who, as a club leader, she met with occasionally. (The incident with Kurogane was best left forgotten. She _still _hadn't forgiven the Kaicho for that stunt.)

It was easy for her to guess where the center of the chaos was. With silence behind her, she needed only to follow the noise. Word of her arrival must have gotten out, because the halls she came to were already clearing when she got there. There was no sign of either Benibachi or any student council members. The former was most likely at the site already, but she doubted many of the latter would bother. For a student council, they were depressingly lazy about their duties.

Arriving at the scene of the crime, she stopped, blinked, considered turning around and blinked again. Perhaps she _should _leave it to the student council members to sort it out. The experience would be good for them, and there were far nicer things she could be doing. Things like training, or paperwork, or sleeping. Sleep in particular was nice, comforting, painless, stress free, and, most importantly at the moment, didn't involve other people. Specifically, sleep didn't involve Tenchi students.

A tense silence fell as her presence was registered and all eyes turned to her. A step behind her, Jodo made a choked sound that was suspiciously reminiscent of a hastily covered laugh. A distant part of her brain pretended to kick him. It took all of her willpower to keep her face straight, and she could feel eye desperately trying to twitch. She opened her mouth once, closed it, swallowed to soothe her suddenly dry throat, and decided to just let someone explain the situation. If it _could_ be explained. She had a gut feeling that the "explanation" would be either convoluted, based on some idiotic logic, or worse, both. Silence, she had discovered as a child, was an authority figure's most potent weapon against the guilty minded.

She wasn't even sure where to begin in the first place. She really didn't get paid enough to deal with this kind of thing. There was bad, and then there was...this. Her mind worked a mile a minute to try and put some sense into the situation. Several students stuttered "Miyamoto-san!" either in horror (from the apparent culprits), or relief ( from the victims and Benibachi-san). Their voices hardly registered as she stared numbly at the scene before her.

In the middle of the rush of explanations, several balloons dropped and exploded, splattering everyone present with something that looked and smelled exactly like paint. Blue paint, to be precise. Bright blue paint. _Glittering _bright blue paint. Her hair drooped with the sudden weight and several surprised gasps were heard. Before her stood many glittering blue blob shaped people. The Benibachi-san looking blob was radiating murderous intent. A person she now recognized as Mikado-san was visibly shaking with anger, and the person she assumed was Inori-san was caught between the same anger and her instinct to hold down her partner. The other students were utterly emotionless.

A snap was heard, and her vision was filled with multicolored feathers raining down. A horrified silence pervaded the newly decorated hall. A whimper from the culprits sounded, breaking the ice and starting an avalanche of screams, threats, and apologies.

She should have just turned around, or better yet, she should have just gone to sleep earlier.

~**Some time later**~

"You can laugh now." she said to Jodo as they got into the car, who wasted no time in letting out the laughter he had been holding back for the past hour and a half. She was surprised he had managed to hold it in so long. He had been twitching the entire duration of the incident, and more than once fell victim to a severe "coughing fit." _After_ the initial anger of being doused in glittering blue paint and feathers, of course. Not that she could blame him. The entire situation was ridiculous to the extreme.

She could still hear her coworker snickering to himself as he started the car. She sank into her seat in utter exhaustion, rolling down the window and letting the cool air hit her face. A nice headache had formed behind her eyebrow, and all she wanted to do at the moment was close her eyes and sleep. The cold air felt so good, and went a long way toward getting rid of the smell of paint that stuck to them both.

"Kids these days are certainly creative, I'll give them that." the guard finally managed to get out. "The little princess is gonna be upset that she missed it all."

"If I had _known_ it was going to be like that, I would have gladly woken her up so she could deal with it personally." the exhausted girl groaned into the rushing wind. That had been quite literally a mess of epic proportions, one that she was not looking forward to explaining tomorrow. It was simple enough case of rivalries and pranks gone out of hand, but Hitsugi would be incredibly disappointed at her absence during the event.

She closed her eyes and laid her head on the door. By the time the mansion was in view she was more than ready to drop into bed, pajamas or not. She didn't have the energy to fuss over something small like changing. The paint had dried by this point anyway, so it wasn't like she had to worry about ruining the sheets.

"I can't wait to tell the others. They're going to love this." He looked down at his clothes and winced. "I hope this stuff comes out. I don't want to have to get another uniform. Anyway, good luck tomorrow kid. It was fun."

"Thanks."she mumbled, even managing to muster up a little sarcasm in it. "Night." She waved as the door closed. By the time she reached the front door, the car was gone. Her shoes and jacket were placed in their proper places and she found herself standing in the living room before she even realized she had taken them off. A dim light had been left on for her, and there on the counter sat a small pile of cookies and a glass of milk.

She had never felt more grateful toward anyone than she did at that moment.

"Ichihara-san really is the best."

~**The next morning**~

"Good morning." Hitsugi greeted mildly, hearing the small shuffle of socks against the floor in the hallway. Turning to smile at the younger girl, she faltered at the sight before her. Quickly overcoming her surprise, she examined Shizuku's surprising condition with well hidden confusion.

The jeans and button up shirt her friend wore were creased and wrinkled, obviously having been slept in. The shirt was only halfway buttoned up, and one of the sleeves had been rolled up. Her hair was sticking up in every direction, except for the back, which was completely straight save for the natural curl at the end. Most curiously, she was completely splattered with glittering blue paint and...were those feathers?

"Goo' mor'in." came the semi-intelligible reply, half yawn, half mumble.

"You're up later than usual. Here, breakfast." she said warmly, fondness for the oblivious girl creeping into her tone. She wanted desperately to ask about her partner's...artistic state, but she had a feeling the girl wasn't quite awake enough to explain properly.

She had to admit, the absent stare and messy state were undeniably adorable. It reminded her of their days of adventuring out into the forest that surrounded the property, back when the most difficult part of the day was explaining to their mothers how exactly they'd managed to once again ruin a set of perfectly good clothes. Although, there hadn't been many times even back then where Shizuku was _this _colorful. The few she could recall without hesitation had been...special occasions.

The groggy girl stared blankly at her for a moment, before the presence of food cut through some of the fog her mind was mired in. Shizuku managed to sit down without incident, though it was a close call. Hitsugi held back a chuckle as the empty stare was transferred to the food in front of her. She watched purple eyes narrow for a second in concentration, then return to normal after their owner decided that eating didn't require thought.

"I'm sorry. I woke up late." Not even her apparent exhaustion could stifle her natural reflex to apologize for the slightest things, it seemed.

"Hardly. Rest assured, we have no pressing matters to attend to today." Hitsugi consoled, chin on her palm, proud of herself for keeping most of the amusement out of her voice. It _was _rare for Shizuku to sleep in for so long, but she didn't mind in the least. "I did have the oddest message on my phone from Benibachi-san last night, but as I have yet to receive a call from her I believe it has been taken care of." the Kaicho mused in curiosity, and a not so small hint of humor. The message had been filled with more noise than actual words and was completely unintelligible. Judging from her partner's state, she could make a good guess as to why there had been no follow up call.

Shizuku choked on her food, suddenly wide awake. With a frustrated noise she dropped her head onto the table. The abused girl groaned in pain and regret for her hasty action. Hitsugi blinked in confusion. '_So I was correct. Hmph. I do not believe she should be treating herself in such a rough manner when she is in such a state._'

Raising an eyebrow, she inquired "I take it that you have some knowledge on the matter for me?" Another groan, this time with a small grumble, was her answer. In morning-person-Shizuku-speech, it roughly translated to "Yes, and I don't really want to talk about it but I will if you continue questioning me." It had taken her years to crack the code, but she thought that she had it completely worked out by now. "All I could discern from the message was that someone was rather angry. Several someones, if I heard correctly."

A snort and a growl. So there were a _lot _of angry people, Shizuku included. It was quite the herculean task to inspire Shizuku's anger. It only took a quick glance at her current state to discern that whatever had occurred, it had been on a large scale. If her partner was still annoyed about it, then she could also be certain that whomever was involved would no doubt still be several times angrier.

"If the noise was any indication, the entire dorm must have certainly been aroused by the incident. I assume that there were several complaints concerning the ruckus."

This time a short hum. Shizuku must have handled that already. Then again, her presence at the scene alone would have curbed any minor complaints. Only the bravest students (or the stupidest) went whining to _her_ about petty problems. Shizuku was, in their minds, a much safer alternative.

"I assume it will be necessary for me to assign additional punishment." She pointedly looked at the ruined clothes. "I also assume you set the culprits to cleaning their mess, however extensive it was. I do hope the paint comes out of your clothes. That is your favorite shirt."

Shizuku covered her head with her arms. "I...yes. I did. It's kind of a long story."

Hitsugi said nothing as her friend tried to organize her thoughts. On one hand, she was slightly disappointed that she had apparently missed something so amusing, but on the other, Shizuku so rarely took the initiative and acted on her own.

She would tease her friend about abandoning her later. She wouldn't mean it of course. Too often she worried that Shizuku's deference to her was slowly eroding her already fragile self confidence. The insecurity that would result from a poorly timed joke of that manner would have her struggling for weeks to repair the damage. She would have to wait a day or two before teasing her about the subject. The period of silence was long enough that Shizuku would be assured of her happiness with the result, but short enough that she didn't get anxious about her lack of opinion on it.

She watched Shizuku run a hand through her hair, messing it up even more, and fighting to free her hand from the clumps of paint that had dried. She cherished the frustratingly helpless expression that took over her partner's face and wondered how Shizuku could think that she would ever be anything but pleased with any action she took. She wasn't sure she _had_ the strength to ever be angry when faced with that painfully honest face.

But just because she was acting cute didn't mean she would go unpunished. She had a reputation to uphold after all.

**~End~**

**After deciding to check something for another fic, I noticed that I had this, version two, tucked away in a corner, lost amidst a pile of other fics. It's not much different than the first version, to be honest, but just enough to assure me that it is slightly improved. **


	2. Incident with the Nurses

In retrospect, it probably hadn't been a good idea to push herself so hard the day after a double guard training session. It had been an even worse idea to do so with half healed wounds. So when the cut on her arm reopened, she really shouldn't have been surprised.

If she hadn't been so surprised, she would have realized that it wasn't _that _bad, in spite of the alarming amount of blood staining her arm. If she had realized that it was easily taken care of, she would have bandaged it herself, like she had been taught to do in dire emergencies (that she didn't _know _this was a dire emergency was of little consequence). If she _had _bandaged it then, she wouldn't have had to go to the nurse's office like a normal student with too much free time and no common sense. If she hadn't gone to the nurse's office, she wouldn't have run into Ai-san. If she hadn't run into the head nurse, she wouldn't be..._here. _

But that was in the past, because she _hadn't _done those things, and it was pointless to dwell on opportunities missed. Hindsight was 20/20 and all that, but it didn't really help her escape her current situation.

"Since I couldn't find our normal guest, I brought someone new. You all know Shizuku, yes? Good. Lesson starts in ten minutes, so have fun until then." With those energetic words, Ai had damned Shizuku to ten minutes of being subjected to the (nonexistent) mercy of the third year students in the nursing program. In an instant, she had been transformed from an authority figure to be respected, into a new plaything to be fawned over.

Worse, she had been mercilessly stripped down to a sports bra and compression shorts, then dragged into the connected classroom to stand in front of several upperclassmen. Ai's comforting words of "We're all girls here. Nothing they haven't seen before." hadn't been so comforting. Quite the opposite, in fact. One look at the suddenly predatory gazes told her that she should have run far, far away, lack of clothing notwithstanding.

"Awww she's cute!"

"I love your hair! It's so soft!"

"You're in damn good shape girl!"

"A little short, aren't you?"

"Those _eyes_! So pretty!"

"Eeeee! Look at her blush!"

"No wonder the Kaicho keeps her to herself!"

Shizuku wished she could sink into the floor. Hell, she would gladly take spontaneous combustion if it meant she wouldn't have to go through this. Her internal temperature was already high enough that her face was darker than her hair. All these people surrounding her, squealing over her, _touching _her, was too much to take. She had never been more embarrassed in her life. _Ever_. And she grew up regularly attempting to explain Hitsugi-san's latest stunts, and how they led to their less than pristine condition, to their amused mothers.

She didn't understand how such normally calm people could change so vastly. As far as she had known, all these girls were composed, cheerful individuals with a friendly bedside manner and patience tempered by iron hard stubbornness for dealing with hardheaded patients.

They were also, she now knew, her worst nightmare. They loved to tease, and she distinctly did _not _enjoy _being _teased. If she had been a more outspoken person, she might have said something about not liking being the center of attention, and that she would really prefer to have her clothes back _on_ and would they _please_ stop _touching _her because it was incredibly uncomfortable. Alas, she was not, and so her protestations were limited to a few scattered failed attempts that amounted to little more than "ah." They were even occasionally accompanied with a flinch.

Never back down indeed. The Tenchi precept obviously never took into account being stripped to your underwear and attacked by enthusiastic nurses who thought you were their newest plush toy. If it had, then it would have been amended to "Never back down unless faced with reasonable threat to sanity and dignity." A mental note was made to toss that by Hitsugi-san sometime after this, then shied away when realizing an explanation would inevitably be required.

At least her arm had gotten cleaned up. The bandages were nice and neat and very professionally done. Ai had trained her students well. She wondered who the other poor soul that had been subjected to this horrible ordeal before her was. (Elsewhere, a happy Kotake Rina sneezed, ignoring it, and the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something, in favor of enjoying her strange good mood.)

"All right. Lets get started!" Ai, her friend, co-worker, and kidnapper, finally reappeared. The hope of rescue rose up. "It's bruises and sprains today, which, as you can see, our guest has a lot of. Gather round." And just as quickly, it was dashed away. She did not like the way the head nurse was smiling. At all. It was disturbingly similar to the way Hitsugi-san smiled, just before she executed another chaotic scheme. It all but screamed smug mischief and impatient excitement. "All but," because the screaming was done by the victims immediately after.

Mere minutes later, Shizuku realized that she was wrong in her earlier thinking that things couldn't get worse, or that she couldn't be any more embarrassed. She should have learned her lesson after all these years of living with Hitsugi-san and her antics, but she had remained ever an optimist, albeit a sarcastic one.

This incident might forever cure her of _that _way of thinking. Putting a chronically shy person on display, practically in her underwear, and pointing out all her bruises, strains, cuts, and scars was a sure fire way to kill her belief that hope existed in the world. Add in some poking, prodding, and massaging, and it was an instant K.O.

A hand stroked her spine then stopped at one of the larger bruises, pressing hard to make her jump and yelp. The nurses giggled, and she could _hear _the smirk in Ai's voice. Her face darkened even more, if it were possible, and she hung her head to try and hide the blush.

She just wanted it all to _end_. She didn't even care _how_, just that it did, and soon. She was sure it wasn't healthy to have the much blood rushing to her head. At least if she fainted, there were plenty of well trained nurses to take care of her. Things couldn't possibly get any more awkward than they were now.

She should have known better than to tempt fate. Fate was unforgiving to those that challenged its almighty rule, even in their thoughts. Her lesson on optimism and the misfortune it brings wasn't complete yet.

"I apologize for interrupting your class, but I seem to have lost my...part...ner." She was proven wrong once again. _Now _she couldn't possibly be more embarrassed. In fact, she skipped over that emotion all together, and jumped straight off the deep end of mortification. She was never going to live this down. Once Amachi-shacho and her mother heard about this, the guards would hear about it, and then her life would effectively be over. She would be unable to stand the teasing that was sure to result. Just thinking about it made her brain shut down to avoid an emotional overload.

"I borrowed her for a little lesson. Hope you don't mind Kaicho." Ai was grinning. She was _always _grinning. But never before had Shizuku wanted to destroy her for it. She used to admire that, even. Now she understood why Kotake-san was always glaring at her nurse counterpart.

"Ah, no. I ...do _not _mind. I will allow you to...continue. With your lesson. Excuse me." Had she been in her right state of mind, she would have immediately noticed that Hitsugi had the oddest look on her face. She would have realized that the Kaicho _voluntarily _skipping out on any chance to tease her younger partner was an indication of a dilemma of earth-shattering proportions. Had she been in her right state of mind, she would have said that, at that moment, Hitsugi looked almost...embarrassed.

Her brain, however, was still attempting a reboot, and so the moment was stored for reviewing at a later time, when she was alone and had plenty of time to ponder the look. That was, if she could get through remembering everything else she experienced without attempting to wipe the incident from her mind. First the Paint Incident the other day, now this. She must have angered a deity of some sort, to have deserved this.

She was in a daze for the rest of the lesson, and numbly said her goodbyes to the students when they left. She dressed in silence, and when Ai dragged her to the teacher's lounge for hot chocolate, she didn't object. She didn't care what happened to her anymore. She just wanted to go home and sleep, so that she could forget everything for a few hours.

**~After~**

She, Kotake Rina, head judge and assistant coach of the track team, was having a good day. All her work was done, her students hadn't caused any problems during practice, and, perhaps best of all, no one had been injured on her watch, meaning she had no reason to go to the nurse's office. More to the point, she had no reason to see That Person, on this particular day, and therefore had no reason to fear for her sanity and/or dignity.

True, she couldn't remember _why _today, specifically, was supposed to be dreaded. In fact, she hadn't taken note of the date at all. She wasn't about to look too deeply into the reason for her good mood, not when such a smooth day was so _rare_. She was going to take advantage of it while she could, and _not _ruin it with getting herself dragged into another of Tenchi's spectacular messes.

So it was with good cheer and enough caution to be just shy of paranoia that the young woman walked into the teacher's lounge. It was a dangerous place to be if a woman wanted peace (not that there was anywhere else in the school that could claim otherwise), but she really wanted a cup of coffee right now. It would only take a minute to make.

Holding her breath, she listened outside the door carefully. No noise. That was good. It meant the room was either empty or occupied by a saner staff member. Maybe.

A single step into the room was enough to force her to pause and consider backing away. Someone was laying on the couch. She spent a breathless moment ensuring that she was not about to get attacked, hugged, molested, or anything similarly disturbing. Once that was done, she continued into the room. Examining the figure on the couch with trepidation and more than a little concern, she began the simple matter of solving the mystery of the person's identity. The face was hidden, but the gym clothes and short stature were strong indicators of safety. Nevertheless, she froze when the cushion covering the person's face shifted, just in case she was wrong.

"Kotake-san...I didn't notice you come in." Her suspicions proved correct. The body was Miyamoto Shizuku. With a relieved greeting, she relaxed and headed to the coffee machine. That particular half of Tenchi's rulers was one of the sanest people in the school, if a little excitable. She had a lot of respect for the anyone who could put up with all the weirdos on a daily basis and remain somewhat sane.

Still, the girl's voice was unnaturally dull for someone who was normally very energetic, even in her exhaustion. Her survival instincts were screaming at her to leave the girl and save herself, advice that was disregarded for several reasons. One was that she rather liked the young sword bearer, who was a genuinely good person. Another was that her instincts sounded suspiciously like a certain not-to-be-named nurse. Any advice connected to that woman, in any way, was not to be trusted. Or at least, trusted without a ten foot pole, three back up plans, a bottle of headache relievers, and extreme paranoia. The ability to run fast was also helpful.

"You seem tired today. Do you want a cup of coffee?" She set herself to work, acknowledging the mumbled thanks with a hum. Peering over her shoulder, she took a better look at young sword bearer. The vice president was sprawled face down on the couch, one hand hanging down to rest on the floor. Despite her shortness, her feet rested easily on the arm of the couch, and the cushion still covered her face. On her arm was a clean bandage, neatly and professionally wrapped. "Training extra hard?"

"Not...exactly. No. I mean. I was. Earlier. But then..." The redhead trailed off with a sound that was almost a whimper. Rina blinked. Something was really nagging her, something important about today that she was forgetting. Her eyes trailed back down the bandage, her eyes narrowing as a feeling of foreboding washing over her.

"Miyamoto-san...did you, by any chance, stop by the nurse's office within the last hour or two?" she asked with dread, covering her face with her hand. It was all starting to come together. Her instincts had picked up on what her brain had not, attempting to warn the oblivious judge of the coming danger. The poor girl on the couch didn't answer, clenching the pillow and pulling it down on her head harder. With great sympathy, she poured the depressed student her drink and handed it to her.

Shizuku sat up on the couch dully, hugging the cushion and cradling the drink with an empty expression. "Thanks."

She sighed. It must have been especially hard on someone as shy as Miyamoto was. "I'm so sorry." She crouched in front of the girl, looking her straight in the eyes. "I know how you feel. Believe me. I know it was overwhelming." She rested her hands on tense shoulders. "But you'll be okay. Just try not to dwell on it. You don't have to do it again. I promise."

"You...you mean it?" Gods, the hope in her eyes would have been considered absurdly exaggerated in any other situation, but now it was just heartbreaking.

"Yes, I mean it. Today you were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time." Purple eyes gazed at her with despair. No doubt the girls had been extra excited about their new toy. Err. Guest. "If you want, I'll print out the schedule for the nurse's extra classes. That way you'll know when to avoid the office, or rather, the one in charge. Now that she's used you once, she won't ask before doing it again." A grimace was shared between her and her new fellow victim-in-arms.

"Would you be...the normal guest then? You seem to know a lot about it." She winced at the question, and the younger girl patted her arm in sympathy. Having someone who understood the pain must have had a better effect than she expected, if Shizuku was coming out of the shock already.

It almost made her wish _she _had someone to empathize with in the beginning, when she had realized that she had just signed herself up for a monthly session of hell. In little more than underwear. Surrounded by disturbingly enthusiastic girls. Being put on display by that wild haired, feral woman who was _always grinning _and poking her and prodding her and purposefully making her twitch, jump, laugh, and wince like she was some sort of _toy_.

Not that she wasbitter about it or anything. Really.

"She...asked me for a favor at the beginning of the year. She only said that it was for her class...I couldn't say no to that." There was no need to explain who "she" was, or what she had found herself walking into. She tried not to sound too annoyed by it. She was sure she failed. "But that's the past. I've gotten used to them by now, but I know you could use some rest. Why don't you go home? There's nothing important going on at the moment. You'll feel better tomorrow, I promise. Embarrassed maybe, and most likely a little mortified, but the worst is over." she said firmly.

When a person was in this state, they tended to respond well to authority and a strong command. The less thinking they had to do, the easier it was for them to recover. Shizuku, she knew, was a member of the Amachi guards, and trained to never disobey and order, if the person in question was respected and recognized as an authority figure.

The respect and gratitude shining towards her now was kind of embarrassing though. She had to remain strong, no matter how much she wanted to blush. The poor girl had gone through enough. She deserved a break.

"You're probably right." The coffee she had prepared for her was finished quickly. "Thank you, Kotake-san. I'll go rest right now." Oh, good. There was some life in those eyes again. Not enough to fake being normal, but it was a start. She just hoped that the Kaicho would go easy on the girl when she saw her.

"Good. Take it easy for the rest of the day, alright?" She smiled at the nod she received in response, and a minute later she was alone. Exhausted, she fell onto the couch and closed her eyes. She could do with a little rest herself. There was a small, cool breeze coming in through the window, and the setting sun lit the room softly. It would be so easy to just fall asleep here..

"Not like you to be sleeping on the job. You sick, Rin?" Oh no. Nonononono.

"You!" she tried to scream, sitting up so fast she made herself dizzy. It came out more like a squeak, and she turned red in embarrassment. Staring down at her was the one woman she did _not _want to see. How she had gotten so close without her knowing, she didn't know. Cursed woman moved as quietly as the jungle cat she resembled.

The object of her nightmares snickered as if she could read her thoughts. Not that she needed the ability to. Her annoyance was plainly written on her face.

And _why _did she insist on shortening her name? They weren't close friends! "It's _Rina_!"

"Working hard today? You missed a good lesson, but I got Shizuku to cover for you. The girls loved her." How could a person be so casually cruel?

"You're heartless. How could you subject her to that?" she asked rhetorically, glowering at the clear amusement in the woman's countenance. She already knew the answer. The monster before her had no mercy.

"You make it sound like I tortured her or something." The nurse might as well have. She was sure that being put on exhibition in your underwear was a legitimate torture method in _some_ part of the world. "You always have so much fun though."

"Fun?" She couldn't believe she had just heard that. When did she ever look like she was having _fun_? "I don't enjoy standing in front of your students in my underwear!"

"Actually, a sports bra and shorts." The nurse corrected matter-of-factly, with a completely straight face.

"It's the same difference!" Did she have no dignity? Sure, working in a medical profession meant that one had to be comfortable with seeing people in various states of undress, but that didn't mean other people were comfortable being _seen _in various states of undress.

"Well, I'm sure you wouldn't agree to stand around in your underwear, so I'd say there's a pretty _big_ difference." It was kind of annoying that Ai looked like she was having fun arguing with her. It always made her feel as though she was ultimately being ignored.

"Because a sports bra and _compression_ shorts leave _so much _to the imagination. It's utterly embarrassing to be paraded around like that in front of _students_." It took all her effort to keep her voice even, but her frayed patience let her agitation slip through. She wondered when this had stopped being about Shizuku, and started being about _her._

"You place a lot of emphasis on the "student" part."

"Of course I do! We're supposed to be authority figures!" Did she really have to explain this? It was common sense!

"Hmm..." Ai scratched her cheek, face twisting in concentration. Had she maybe gotten through to her? Dare she hope?

"So that's how you feel. I never noticed." The nurse actually looked like she was seriously considering her words.

"...I'm sorry. What?"

She didn't like it.

"You were very specific about your dislike of being "paraded around" in front of my _students_." the nurse started to explain, placing a creepy and unnecessary emphasis on the word "students."

"I was...yes, but I don't think like where you're going with this." Actually, she was very certain she didn't like where this conversation was headed.

"You should have said something sooner." Oh no. Ai was smirking again. Her survival instincts were shouting again.

"Err. I...did?" She was sure there had been a talk like this before. Or had there? Were they even on the same page? She had a bad feeling they weren't.

"You're really forward, you know that?" That bad feeling was growing, and she fidgeted on the couch. It never failed to make her nervous when the Ai changed things up. It usually meant more trouble than usual. "Not that I expected anything less from you."

"Umm. Forward about...what?"

"Your feelings!" For some reason, that happy look on the older woman's face was more unnerving than the feral smirk she usually displayed. In fact, it had her considering the viability of jumping out the window, rather than attempting to run past her opponent.

"My...feelings." she repeated flatly.

"Yes." Ai smiled widely at her, and she stared blankly back. There was some sort of disconnect here. Forget being on the same page, they weren't even on the same _chapter_.

"About...what, exactly?" she asked cautiously, narrowing her eyes. There was a small chance that the situation was salvageable, but she wasn't about to bet on it.

"Me!"

"Oh. Right..."

"..." She continued to stare at the smiling woman, letting the implications of the response slowly sink into her brain.

"...Wait what? NO! Not right! Not right at all! What are you talking about? How does that even relate to anything we were discussing? No wait! Don't explain. I don't want to know!" she sputtered, the connection between brain and mouth malfunctioning under the pressure. This woman was unbelievable! Her brain was obviously wired wrong. Where did she even get an idea like that? _How?_

"That's okay. There isn't much to explain. You're shy about being in front of the students, but not me. Simple, see?"

She choked back a growl, the noise making Ai raise an eyebrow. "I'm leaving! Now!" She stood up, face burning, before realizing abruptly that she had miscalculated. She had naively expected Ai to move. She should have know better than to rely on activating the woman's (nonexistent) personal boundaries to prompt her into backing away. They were now standing far closer than she was comfortable with. Far, far closer. She felt her face start to flush, and she cursed her body's betrayal.

"Aw come on now. No need to be embarrassed!"

"I, I'm not embarrassed! I'm annoyed!" Don't blush don't blush don't blush.

"You're blushing." Damn it all.

"I am not! I'm leaving!" she said again, this time with more force. Ai said nothing as she all but ran to the door, except to sing a happy "See you tomorrow!" before the door slammed shut.

It was times like these that she considered taking up drinking. Or murder.

~**Staff Room~**

Ai hummed as she picked up the leftover mug and placed it in the sink. Not only had she snagged a second guest for her classes, she had managed to get a better reaction from Rina than she ever had. Now that's good work for one day.

"And this time, she didn't even hit me. I'm definitely growing on her."

~**End~**

**Yes, the writing style changed. No, it is not a different writer. I never liked third person narrative. Why, then, did I use it? A teacher once told me it was good to challenge your boundaries. At one in the morning though, I wasn't going for it. And so, this story, originally written in aforementioned style, was reworked into what it is now. At was also shorter. A lot shorter. So short, I'm not even sure how it's the same story. (Checking against what I have written in my notepad, it is. I guess that's what happens when you stop fighting yourself about everything you write.)**


	3. Incident in the Stairwell

~**Hallway**~

Being the vice president came with a lot of work. She had understood that when she gave in to Hitsugi-san's request (order) that she become her sister-in-arms. Throwing herself into her new role, she had learned how to deal with all the paperwork and organizing and meetings that came with it.

For all of those accomplishments, all the work she had put into becoming someone even _slightly_ worthy of being Hitsugi's partner, she didn't remember "consoling hysterical and crying students" being on the list of duties she was expected to perform. Anywhere.

And yet, here she was, sitting on the stairs against the rail, wrist and shoulder sore, with a first year middle school girl clinging to her, sobbing. Papers that had previously been in her hands fluttered to the floor around her. She blinked, trying to take in the situation.

She had been helping the aides. She had walked with them down the hall. She had heard a scream. She had acted. And now a girl was crying. On her.

While she internally panicked, the office aides she had been assisting were scrambling around trying to pick up and reorganize the paperwork she had dropped. As per usual among Tenchi residents, their priorities were fantastically skewed. Another girl, presumably a friend of the one in her arms, was hopping around in agitation, but offered absolutely no help.

All that bouncing around nearly resulted in the girl being the second (third, if she counted her own injuries) victim of the day. It would have been bad luck for the dancer, since she was currently held down by the first victim, and not in any position to go around saving _another_ person from meeting great injury by stairwell. She would try, she knew that, but she also knew that it wouldn't end well for any of them.

She desperately wanted to cry out that a little help would be appreciated very much thank you, but it was getting difficult to breath with the death grip around her neck. It was now almost impossible to tell if she was gasping from adrenaline, pain, or lack of air. None of the others looked concerned for her, at any rate. Before her vision became too blurry, the grip eased up.

_Air_. Wonderful, blessed air. The welcome addition of oxygen to her deprived brain restored enough functionality to let her realize that no, the girl was not a mind reader like she was inclined to think. It was a silly thought to begin with, but really, at this point, she wouldn't have been surprised. There _were_ a few students who used odd powers after all. Mind reading wasn't that far fetched an idea, but the perfectly normal explanation here was that one of her own arms had taken the initiative and was soothingly rubbing the girl's back.

Good job arm. Now if only her mouth or brain would follow its example. She wasn't even particularly picky about which one, so long as she managed to do _something _useful. Although she could argue that she had been plenty useful, considering she _caught the girl in midair, _quite possibly saving her from serious injury.

Paperwork reorganized, the office aides took one look at the two girls, and came to an instant decision. "We'll leave this to you, Miyamoto-san." And with that, her oh-so-trusty office aide friends abandoned her. She watched them, horror quickly taking root. _This _is the thanks she gets for helping them after the copier had started shooting out papers like a pitching machine? For the hour she had spent helping them copy, organize, and staple the huge pile of packets? Half of which, she might mention, had been organized _before_ the office aides, in their alarm, had jumped across the table, effectively tipping over both the table and the paperwork it held onto the floor.

Whatever happened to the Tenchi spirit of camaraderie and friendship?

"I'm so, so, _so_ sorry Miyamoto-san! This is all my fault!" Eh? Oh, the crying girl had gotten a hold of herself. Speak! Say something, anything, but don't just sit there!

"All that matters is that you're okay." Nice work mouth! They finally pulled themselves up cautiously, the wince the girl made when she stood not escaping her notice. "You're hurt. We should get you to the nurse's office." Brain functionality restored to eighty percent or so. Functional enough to, at least, make her shudder the slightest bit at the mention of the Captain of the Nurse Corps.

"Oh! You don't have to! I've already wasted so much of your time, and I'm sure you're busy with work and all that, and I have Yuuki here with me so you really don't have to bother with us!" Ah, so Dancer does have a name. Looking at the two girls, she frowned at their obvious despair.

"It's fine, really. I had to go there anyway, so you're hardly a bother. Not that you would be otherwise. That was a close call. I'd feel better if we ensure that you don't have any injuries." She smiled disarmingly, doing her best to project a relaxed and confident aura while internally praying that the girls would agree to it without trouble. To her relief, the girl acquiesced hesitantly.

On the way she learned that Yuuki and the crying girl, whose name was Miri, were both first year regular students, and that they had been friends for as long as they could remember. Yuuki had come to Tenchi for the little known, but highly rated, business program. Miri, being the ever faithful and diligent friend, had followed without question, instantly joining the computer club. They made an odd pair, as Yuuki easily dwarfed her friend by a good five inches. By the time they reached the Nurse's Office, both girls had relaxed considerably, warming up to her easily.

"Hello! Do you need help with anyth-oh. Captain! Miyamoto-san is back!" The third year in the back smiled widely at her and she tried not to flinch. Miri and Yuuki glanced at her in alarm as they were abruptly, but kindly, shoved onto the nearest beds by older nurses. "Now what happened with you three? And don't leave anything out!"

"Oh, I'm not injured. It's Miri who needs the help. She fell down the stairs. Or, she would have, if Miyamoto-san hadn't caught her." Yuuki explained in concern. She was ignored.

"We'll be the judge of that." A second year said briskly, halting rebellious thoughts of escape with a hard stare. Dismayed, but completely cowed, the taller girl could do nothing but let a sharp eyed and distressingly stubborn nurse in training examine her while another took care of Miri. It seems the first years were just now discovering how scary the nurses were, though of course, none held a candle to their Captain.

"Back again? Sheesh. Not that I don't applaud your enthusiasm, but if you keep going at this rate you're going to collapse sooner or later." Ai, making her typical energetic entrance, tsked and shook her head in fake exasperation. "What are we going to do with you?"

"I _wasn't _training." she retorted defensively, calming the instincts that urged her to run. "And I'm not that hurt." Ai had an amazing ability to make people forget about their pain. Mostly out of frustration or fear, but it was still admirable, if you weren't the person on the receiving end. The older woman whistled happily as she directed her favorite student to the nearest bed.

"Ah, but "that" is the keyword. Now what happened?" Ai took the offered arm and examined her wrist in a professional manner totally at odds with her speech.

"Takeda-san had a small accident is all. I happened to be passing by and acted." She explained calmly. The first years chorused their agreements enthusiastically. The woman hummed as she accepted the wrist as mostly usable and moved onto the other injury.

"A regular knight in shining armor, aren't you?" Ai snickered, remembering one particular stunt of Hitsugi's. After poking the bruise on her back, and snorting at the twitch it caused, the nurse sighed in annoyance. "Just a bruise. Why are you whining to me about this little thing? Go let your Kaicho baby you, not me."

She sputtered at the last comment, protesting the thought of anyone babying her and, most importantly, any claim of ownership over aforementioned Kaicho. Ai rolled her eyes and went to examine her student's handiwork.

"Hmph. All three of you are fine." She pronounced after a quick exam, looking vaguely annoyed. Yuuki and Miri scooted away from her discreetly, a little concerned about the sanity of the person in charge of their health. She didn't blame them. Ai's logic was rather disconcerting to the lighthearted or sane.

"Thank you Ai." she said, pointedly ignoring the complaining from young woman. The student nurses gave them apologetic looks and sent them off with some light warnings to take it easy. They were mostly aimed at her, but the first years took the advice with solemn looks.

Sighing with relief at the relatively easy escape, she parted with the exhausted Yuuki and Miri on happy terms. A girl had been saved, no one had been injured (seriously) and the rest of the day was free. She hadn't quite gotten the explanation of why, exactly, she had ended up needing to save Miri, but she wasn't worried about it. It was done and over with.

Until she walked into the student council office the next day to report the day's hoshitori results to Hitsugi-san, and found a solemn faced Miri talking to a unusually serious Kaicho. She listened sympathetically to the explanation of Miri's family situation, and Hitsugi-san granting her a week away from school to be with her parents. She offered the proper condolences and some encouragement, which the young girl appreciated. The next day she waited with her at the entrance, and waved goodbye to her as she was driven away.

A week later she was back, Yuuki stopped moping, and everything returned to normal.

That should have been the end of it.

It was normal, she knew, to start seeing someone everywhere once you became aware of their existence. There was nothing odd about a girl being so willing to chat with the one who had saved her. She had no reason to be suspicious when Miri offered to help her whenever she got the chance. The occasional feeling of being watched was a little more alarming, but nothing new.

Alarm bells started going off when Yuuki pulled her aside a week later, and told her that Miri tended to be like that, and to please just try and weather it until the phase passed. And then, suddenly, Miri _was _everywhere. The girl had memorized her schedule. She followed her when she could. She knew more about the student council duties than some of the student council members themselves.

It was just a phase, she told herself. It's not threatening. It was actually a little flattering, in an odd way. She'd faced weirder things, to be sure.

"Ummm. Miyamoto-san...do you need help?"

"Huh?" She glanced up from the paperwork just long enough to note that the speaker was her newest fan (she disliked the word, but there wasn't any other way to describe her), then returned her gaze towards solving her dilemma. She had to wheel this...whatever it was that Hitsugi-san had ordered, and carry over the paperwork, which would stay nowhere on the...thing. Impossible alone, but with another person...

"Oh, yes. Perfect timing!" A little _too _perfect, but she wasn't about to complain. "Can you grab these? I have to get all this to the meeting, but that thing is heavier than I expected. I'll need both hands to move it." she said sheepishly.

Miri glowed with happiness. The bright smile was almost unnerving in its radiance. "Sure!" And so on their way they went. "What is that thing?" The first year asked curiously.

"I don't know. Hitsugi-san ordered it." She huffed as Miri ran to the office door, holding it open while she wheeled the giant object inside. The room was still empty. Good. She could set everything up without interruption. The first year made herself a useful assistant, and by the time Hitsugi-san and Tatewaki had arrived, there was little to do other than wait for the others.

For once, the Kaicho sat without comment, her unappreciated helper following her cues and ignoring the other girls entirely. Not unexpected, considering Hikaru-san's completely unexplained animosity towards her.

"All right. I think that's it. Thanks for the help Miri-san." She smiled at the first year gratefully. Things really had been set up much smoother than usual, and Miri took directions well. She could pull things up on the computer a lot faster than she did too. As far as stalkers went, she was definitely one of the better ones.

"Oh! It's. It was no problem!" The younger girl looked nervous, and was staring determinedly down at the floor. It had become a habit of hers since their first meeting. She really was a shy person.

"If you say so. Either way, I'm glad you were around to help."

"It's the least I could do! After all, you did..." There, the girl trailed off. She blinked and smiled softly, wondering if that gratefulness was the reason behind her recent near stalking habit. Miri shyly looked up, saw the smile, and squeaked. "I'm glad I could help see you around Miyamoto-san!" she all but yelled, blushing madly as she ran out of the room frantically.

"Okay..." She blinked. That was new. A choked sound made her turn to face the Kaicho, who was covering her mouth with one hand. "Is something wrong, Hitsugi-san?"

Her partner coughed and resumed her normal position. The tiny smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth, and the glint of opportunity in her eyes, stole her breath away.

From dread. Horrible, gut wrenching dread.

The look was gone an instant later, replaced with an expression of slight boredom and passivity. "A..._friend _of yours, is?" She narrowed her eyes, mind working to discover the hidden meaning behind the words. She wasn't going to fall for that innocent look. This was going somewhere, she knew it was, she just had to figure out where and stop it.

"You mean Takeda-san? Yes, you could say that." Best to be mindful of her words. She never knew which one would trigger a potentially frustrating response courtesy of the convoluted logic that ruled Hitsugi-san's actions.

"A first year, was she not?" She sounded merely curious, but that had to be a front. She had not imagined that smirk. Her instincts, honed after all these years of experience, had their hackles raised.

"Yes." Simplicity was the best route. Hitsugi's expression hadn't changed, but that meant nothing. The game was not over until the look of disappointment graced her face. Anything less meant that there was a still a high chance of the advantage getting turned around.

"If I'm not mistaken, that was the one who took a week off not so long ago. For family issues. Takeda Miri." The Kaicho shuffled her papers nonchalantly.

"Ah, yes. That's her." She fidgeted, waiting for the next move.

"Cute." Tatewaki yelped in the background, which was ignored by the other two.

"..."

"..."

Wait. That was it? Just "cute." That couldn't be it. This was wrong. There was no plausible explanation for this, this tameness. She could _sense _that there was more to this conversation than wasting time. Simplicity, thy name was notHitsugi. Her instincts about her partner were _never _wrong, though many times she had wished they were.

How should she respond? Was there even a safe answer? Agreeing or disagreeing would lead to numerous possible outcomes. Was there some direction she was aiming towards? Some point she was trying to make? Or had she simply spotted an opportunity to tease her a little?

No. She couldn't let it get to her. If playing along meant inevitably falling into a trap, then she would just have to refuse to play.

She met her partner's gaze stubbornly. Still, Hitsugi said nothing, did nothing, except stare at her patiently. Her hand started to twitch, nerves unsettled as she waited for her partner to either switch tactics or give up (unlikely, but possible).

A drop of sweat formed on her brow. Was she being a little paranoid? Undoubtedly. But that didn't mean it was unjustified.

"I...suppose...so." No, wrong! Talking was _not _how one refused to play with Hitsugi! So why did her mouth just move?

Hitsugi leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingers on the table. She was smiling. "A new office aide?"

"No...she's in the tech club." A valid question. Hitsugi paid little attention to most regular students. Not out of rudeness, but because they weren't as amusing as the sword bearers.

"Is that so? She appeared very eager to be of assistance to you."

"Oh, uh. That is. She was just being...friendly." She looked away and scratched her cheek, acutely aware that all her actions were now being observed and cataloged for future reference in the Kaicho's mind. She had to act as normal as possible, but it was just so difficult when she was being stared at like that. "When she saw that I needed help."

She hoped that her partner hadn't caught wind of Miri's stalking habit. Who knew what she would do with that knowledge. Nothing harmful, to be sure, but with the month she had had, a peaceful week would be a pleasant change. She hadn't had one of those for quite a while.

"Friendly. Yes, that was markedly apparent. I was not aware that you interacted so frequently with the tech club." The smile got bigger. "At least, not to such a degree as to acquire such an _adoring _fan." Game set and match.

She squeaked in a manner incredibly reminiscent of Miri's earlier action. "She's not!"

"Who's not what?" Oh please let this be a dream. Mikado Akira was the _last_ person she wanted involved in this meaningless conversation.

"No one! It's nothing!"

"Shizuku's new admirer."

"It's not like that!" Never mind the fact that it _was. _They didn't need to know that.

"I'm afraid that the evidence does not lie, my dear Shizuku."

"What _evidence_?"

The newly arrived student council members watched the conversation as closely as they would a fight, gazes flitting back and forth between the two opponents as they decided who to place their bets on.

She doubted any of them would place them on her. She wouldn't, if she were them.

"If you truly want to know, for one, the fact that the girl in question-"

"Nono. Never mind. Forget I asked. Please just drop the subject."

"My, so conflicted. Are you confident that you do not feel the need to express your feelings on the matter? It would be cathartic, I imagine, if you are struggling to come to a decision."

"_Very_. Not that I can think of any sort of decision I would need to make about this. Now can we _please _start the meeting?"

"As you wish." Hitsugi sighed and turned her attention to the paperwork in front of her. The council members, taking the cue, slowly seated themselves. She could tell they were disappointed at the abrupt ending of their entertainment.

She rubbed forehead wearily. "As you wish" indeed. She knew that this wouldn't be the end of it. That she had given in so easily only meant that it would be put aside for further consideration later.

"So someone has a crush on Miyamoto? Ha. I would have never guessed." Unless, of course, nosy sword bearers wouldn't let the subject rest. Also, that was slightly insulting. No surprise, since the comment came from Mikado-san. "Pleasant" and "tact" were not words often referred to in _her _dictionary.

"You can't expect us _all _to have an infamous eighty plus member fan club like _you._" she retorted stiffly, forgetting that she was meant to be denying the subject matter. She caught Sae holding back a laugh out of the corner of her eye, while Hitsugi scoffed next to her.

"No accounting for taste there. At least Miyamoto is a sensible choice. You, on the other hand..." Akira snarled and the topic thus changed focus away from her. That had been easier than expected. She had never been more grateful for the tension among the student council members than she was now. At the very least, it had curbed her partner's impending commentary on the matter.

The ensuing argument lasted until Hitsugi became bored and snapped her fingers, deafening them all into silence. From there the meeting finally began and she could relax. Mostly.

~**End~**

**For now. It may pop up later. You never know. (Neither do I). Two updates today. I've been somewhat productive lately. Let's see how long it takes me to release the next chapter.**


	4. Incident with the Beasts

Orange rays of light that heralded the setting of the sun pierced the dim area, small floating particles illuminated in their path. The openings through which these rays poured forth from were obscured by the hazy brown atmosphere, as was anything else near the boundaries of the area. Her heart pounded noisily, the steady beating in her chest the only sign that time existed in this static dimension. Noise was oddly muted, nearly all sounds being swallowed by the innumerable amount of pillars that stretched to the sky around her. Incapable of scaling them, she was forced to walk a haphazard path among the valley of pillars.

Here and there she spotted signs of other beings, natives whose eyes she could feel trained on her person. The presence of dust, multiple creatures, and mold together created a palpable smell to the air, one that tainted her mouth and nostrils mercilessly. Some had made their homes inside the tall obstructions, ducking out of sight whenever she roamed too close to their territory. Every step further into the heart of the area she took increased the feeling of being an intruder.

It was here that she stalked her prey, swiftly, but oh so quietly gliding across the floor in her hunt. The path she took was clearly visible, her clean footprints against the dust layered floor shouting her existence to any native who bothered to notice. Most didn't. It didn't matter. She had no interest in them. Not now. No, she was here for one small group in particular. This group had only recently taken up residence here, but had grown too bold, too troublesome to allow to remain.

She took a step, deliberately ignoring the small movement in the corner of her vision. A squeak sounded and a flash of white disappeared. The creature was far too tiny to be mistaken for her prey, therefore not worth more than half a moment's consideration. Twice, she had spotted her target, twice, she had given chase, and twice, she had been defeated. All she need focus on now was her prey . All else was of no importance.

Sweaty hands flexed, tension running through her veins. Breathing in deeply through her mouth, she resolutely ignored the irritation building as she calmed her mind. Her instincts were her most reliable sense in this dull realm, and she could ill afford to panic.

A pillar teetered suddenly in the distance. Her gaze shot to it in an instant, catching a shape bolt away. The flash of gray assured her that it was one of her culprits. In its wake, a trail of swaying columns was left, beckoning her onward.

She obeyed, forsaking stealth for speed while she tracked the target. If she were lucky, it would lead her to its nest. What, precisely, she would do when she found it, she didn't know. She had yet to plan that far ahead. It didn't matter. Things would figure themselves out eventually.

Maybe.

She paused at the last column she had spotted the creature, the pillar still lightly swaying. Dust floated lazily away, along with stray tufts of fur. Signs of shedding, perhaps? Or had there been fighting amongst the group? She preferred the first. If the second, it would mean that her targets would be split up.

Her sharp eyes took in her surroundings, searching for any sign of movement. A fresh cloud of dust, created from the swaying of another nearby pillar, made its way towards her. She blinked to clear the grit in her eyes, fought a cough, and waited. The only sound in the area was her own breathing, but if any of the targets had taken to the floor she would be able to hear their claws scratching as they walked.

A shuffle sounded to her left, followed by a clatter as precariously placed items gave in to gravity. A smaller thump, then some scrabbling. One had slipped and fallen. She stilled the urge to run after it, waiting until it chose a direction. If she startled it now, she would be unable to predict its movements. The awaited scrabbling came, the sounds growing louder as it headed away from her direction. She darted around the pillar in hot pursuit. She caught sight of it within seconds, climbing once again to safety.

It spotted her an instant later and jumped, obeying the flight half of its instincts. It tried to lose her amongst the pillars, darting among them, atop them, and through them. She didn't let it. She would not lose this time. She was growing tired of this wretched place and its pervading mustiness. It was time to end this.

Stealth no longer a concern, she noisily tailed after the jumping creature from the ground. It took all she had just to keep up. A chatter of noise rose up, and suddenly there were more of them, climbing forth from their holes to join their distressed ally. Her main foe took a sharp turn that, in her effort to follow, resulted in a collapsed pillar as her sliding foot used it to redirect her momentum. She avoided injury, save for a single hit to the head from stray rubble.

Putting on a burst of speed, she came within arms reach of her opponent. Waiting for the right moment, she followed it's movements as it readied itself for another jump, and took off in front of her.

That was it! With a leap, she intercepted the creature midair, grabbing hold of it firmly. She let out a shout of victory that was abruptly cut off when she realized that she had forgotten to plan her trajectory with anything resembling forethought, or really, any thought at all. In a textbook example of a reason to look _before_ leaping, she crashed headlong into the pillar that just so happened to be in her way.

It did not end there. The pillar was hardly thick enough to act as a decent blockade against her momentum, so with another crash she went on through it to hit the one _behind _it. Debris and rubble rained on top of her, rendering her dizzy from pain as yet another unidentified heavy object made contact with her head. She was buried within seconds.

Brown invaded her vision, as plumes of dust erupted from the crash site. She had no choice but to breathe in the foul air, hacking as her throat became gritty with residual particles. Her eyes watered viciously in defense, and she sneezed several times in succession, with enough force to startle her captive out of its shock. Her prisoner went wild, scratching anything within reach of its tiny claws. Her hands and arms twinged as small cuts slowly appeared as a result of the struggle.

The chattering around her increased, muffled though it was by the mountain of debris she was now buried under. Tiny feet running in circles with increasing speed and frequency could be heard in between the angry communication. A trickle of blood flowed down her neck while she attempted to get her bearings straight. She would have to be able to think on her feet to continue the fight. Rushing ahead without a plan was too risky, as she had just demonstrated.

Once she could breath without trouble she started to make her way out. It was difficult with her hands occupied, but she had been called stubborn by the best of them. Finally she broke through, allowing slightly less dusty air to flow into her relieved lungs.

She had time for one good breath before the creatures around her, now allowed to respond to their friend's distress call, attacked. She lunged away in panic, sharp claws catching on her shirt. She heard the fabric resist, then give in as the creatures fought to hold on to her. The part of her mind that wasn't focused on the battle winced. She had liked that shirt.

Her heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through her body as she jumped into another pillar, rubble tumbling around her. The thing stayed up for all of ten seconds before it gave in and fell over with her and her pursuers on top of it. Pain flared as something cut through her jeans to reach the skin underneath. She would deal with it later. Quickly she examined the area in search of a way out.

The nearest opening through which sunlight shined caught her attention, her body racing towards it before her mind could even finish processing its existence. Angry snarling and the tapping of claws followed at her heels, egged on by the screeching captive. Reaching the small opening, she risked freeing one hand from its bruising hold to force it to open more, doing an odd dodging dance to avoid the leaping animals while also preventing them from climbing up her legs. Her attempts to gain a handhold resulted in the drops of blood on her hand smearing to form fire red streaks across her palm and fingers.

After several hair raising seconds of struggling, she managed to enlarge the hole. Without a second's hesitation she gripped her captive tighter and shoved it out of the opening. There was no second guessing her course of action, no time to consider the humanity of her choice. A screech of anger and denial slowly faded away as the creature fell to the outside world.

No time to celebrate.

With that done, she rolled away to shake off the others. She stared down the horde of angry, beady-eyed monsters. Their bushy tails were erect with tension as they bared their fangs at her, their fur sticking up as they snarled. They circled her from the floor and the pillars, getting ready to maul her in near blind fury. Had she been anyone else, she would have been intimidated.

Narrowing her eyes, she leaped into the fray, grabbing at the nearest enemy. One paw caught her hand, cutting deeply. Hissing, she pushed aside the pain and grabbed at it again, this time succeeding. That one followed its ally out the hole. It merely served to anger the remaining creatures, and they doubled the force of their attacks. Dodging one particularly vicious leap aimed at her face, she grabbed another. Three down, three to go.

The next one was smarter. As soon as her hand was within reach, it snapped and bit her. Yelping, she jumped back shaking her hand. The cut was deeper than the previous ones, and blood leaked out heavily. One tried to take advantage of her distraction and took another leap. She wasn't having any of it. Coldly, she snatched it from midair and proceeded to force it after its brethren. The final two circled her warily.

One grew desperate and charged. It ran through her legs, then doubled back, winding around her foot to climb onto her back. Trying to shake it off, she reached for her back to grab it, earning herself even more scratches. Blood dribbled down her arm.

The last one saw an opportunity and jumped at her throat from a nearby column. It landed long enough to get a grip before she ripped it off and shoved it out of the hole. The one on her back made its final mistake when it tried to crawl on her head. She caught it by the tail, gaining cuts near her hairline and on her face as it tried to hold on, and threw it out after the rest.

Silence was abruptly restored as she leaned against the opening, head resting on its edge. She tried to get her heartbeat and limbs under control, both suffering from the aftereffects of adrenaline. Her arms and hands were now decorated with numerous morbidly artistic looking red welts and blood streaks. She would have to seriously disinfect them, lest she contract a disease of some sort.

The dust settled, and all was well again in the room, as if she hadn't just spent a half hour chasing down the pack of monsters. Pillars, once standing, were toppled over, but otherwise no discernible change affected the room. Tired, sore, bleeding and irritated, she made her way to the exit in search of well deserved rest, food, and bandages.

~**After~**

"Shizuku, forgive me if I am wrong but...it _is_ April, yes?"

"...Huh? Oh uh, yes Hitsugi-san."

"As I thought. You are aware, then, that it is _not_ October."

"That...would be the implication, yes."

"Having established that, you must surely understand why I am presently at a loss regarding your current, ah, condition."

-sigh- "It may be because I'm tired, which, considering past experience, I doubt, but...I'm not following. What does October have to do with me reading?"

"Understand that I speak out of concern for your state of mind."

"...Of course. However could I think otherwise?"

"Also for the fact that you have me thoroughly baffled."

"Is that so? And how have I managed to achieve _that_?"

"You see, all explanations that come to mind for your condition, barring severe head trauma, are far too out of character for you. Though I personally agree that spontaneity is a wonderful frame of mind to have, that does not mean that I wish for you to unnecessarily stress yourself in an effort to amuse me."

"Amu- what? I'm not! I assure you, you don't have to be concerned about anything like _that._"

"In that case, I am at a loss. I simply cannot fathom why you would decide to costume yourself as a mummy at this time of year."

"...Yes. I can see why you wouldn't be able to discern my reasoning behind that _completely_ _wrong_ assumption."

"Nor can I understand why you did not _complete _the costume. It seems that you have been content to merely cover your arms and neck. You do remember that mummies cover their _whole _body with bandages? I must say Shizuku, it is quite unlike you to be so lax in your efforts."

"There was no effort to begin with, other than the effort to stem the flow of blood."

"Neither does a mummy have any need for band-aids on its face."

"People, however, do. When they're _bleeding._"

"While I admit that concealing your face would be quite a shameful waste, one must put forth their best efforts towards every aspect of such undertakings."

"...You're not listening, are you?"

"As for the remainder of your costume, you appear to have decided to aim for the zombie effect halfway through. Such indecisiveness is even further indication of your troubled state of mind."

"You're not. And why are you circling me like that?"

"The no doubt great effort you put forth into fashioning your shirt and pants into such a tattered state has, most unfortunately, been for naught. I regret to inform you that mummies wear neither, and so, in the name of authenticity, you would, of course, have to take them off and replace them with bandages."

"...I'm going to sleep now, Hitsugi-san. Can you please tell Ichihara-san that the squirrels in the attic have been taken care of."

"You need not feel embar-"

"Good_night_, Hitsugi-san."

~**End~**

**So this one was technically finished a while ago. The inspiration for this was...odd. To say the least. Anyway feel free to point out any errors that I'm sure I made, or toss ideas at me, or whatever you want. It'd be nice, at least, to know that the fandom is somewhat alive.**


	5. Incident in the Night

"Are those...?"

"Um. Yeah."

"...Why are they here?"

"No idea."

"Is this part of a joke or something?"

"Who knows. We might be expected to _use_ them."

"For what? It's the middle of winter! They aren't exactly aerodynamic either."

"At least we know they won't hurt."

"Much."

"Maybe we're just going to play around today."

"...Boy, that must be a nice fantasy world you're living in."

"I'm trying to be optimistic!"

"Oooh? And how's that working for ya?"

"Children! Enough! We should be more worried about what the Captain has planned for today! Different is _never_ good."

"If we're supposed to use these the way they're _supposed _to be used..."

"We're going to spend the rest of the night sleeping in the middle of our fireplaces."

"Ha! If we _live _that long."

"Oh come on. I'm sure it won't be too bad...maybe."

"...I don't think you get what "optimism" is."

"Two favors says half of us get hypothermia tonight."

"Three says we _all _do."

"Two that half of us chicken out midway."

"One that the newbie transfers incite the Captain's rage."

"Pfft. That's a given. How about you kid?"

"...Five says three fourths of us get some form of hypothermia, and the rest will give up after nearly drowning. Three of the newbie transfers will have to endure extra punishment, one will be late, and two will faint."

"That's a little more, uh, specific than I was askin', but for five favors, I'll take that bet."

"You're crazy."

"You're not gonna sleep for the next week, you know that?"

"All right, all right. Bets are placed, now lets get ready. Savor your last moments."

"...Was that supposed to be encouraging?"

"It's the most encouraging I can get."

"Great. We're doomed."

"They're just _pool noodles_. Don't you think you're overreacting?"

"Oh, you poor, naïve fool."

~**Several Hours Later~**

"Oh! Hitsugi-san! You're back! I have a message for you."

Hitsugi looked over at Ichihara-san with interest, not pausing as she closed the door. The cold wind pushed her into the house, and she nearly stumbled as a stronger gust rose. "This late? From who?" Her breath came out in a tiny wisp of fog, the last sign of the freezing temperature outside fading away as the heat of the house smothered it.

"The young woman with the toothy smirk." The maid handed over the note, sniffing as she remembered the nurse's nonchalant attitude. She fidgeted, wanting to help her mistress remove her jacket, but aware that her offer would have been refused.

"Uryuu-san then." she guessed correctly, glancing through the message. "The symptoms and treatment of hypothermia? When was this delivered?" _Why_ it was delivered was a better question, but she could make a good guess as to whom the note concerned.

"Only a few minutes ago. She dropped off Shizuku-san from training. The poor dear. She was utterly exhausted! There's no telling _what _she endured at the hands of that merciless woman!" The woman ranted, no doubt imagining Shizuku being tortured and crying out for help while a badly disguised guard captain laughed evilly in the background.

"Ahaha. Now, now. I hardly think Shizuku is seriously harmed. If she were, I would have been informed." She looked at the note again. "It seems a hot drink may be in order, however. Tea or cocoa, if you would."

"I have already started on it."

Divested of her jacket, scarf, and shoes, Hitsugi wasted no time in heading off to search for her partner. The quest was a short one. Shizuku had planted herself on the corner of the couch, where she had scrunched herself up in a shivering ball underneath a small, but thick blanket. She was dazedly attempting to rub heat back into her feet, remaining completely oblivious to her partner's presence until her hands were grabbed. She blinked at the intrusion, taking in Hitsugi's sudden approach with confusion.

"Hi, Hi'sugi. San. When...?" Shizuku trailed off. Her voice had so little energy behind it that what tried to come out as surprise ended up sounding like dull disinterest. Her body must have decided to shut down all but basic functions in the absence of heat. Even her hair looked like it was drooping, though that was most likely due to the fact that it was still damp.

"Just now. I take it your training today was especially arduous?" She inspected her partner critically, not seeing any injury to be concerned about. That was good. There were limits even for her energetic friend. Very few, but they were there.

"K, kinda." The younger girl replied haltingly, eyes pointedly focused on the very warm hands that were holding her own.

"Well. I cannot claim to be an expert in the matter, but I believe that a bigger blanket, or several, would be of considerable use to you in this situation, unless you would prefer to continue attempting to generate enough friction to light your feet on fire. In which case, you might want to try moving faster." Not that it would have worked anyway, since Shizuku's hands were ice cold. She would have been more likely to rub her skin off first.

"Was goin' to..." Shizuku muttered, continuing sheepishly under her breath. She didn't quite catch it, but it sounded suspiciously like a very slurred "once I could walk." Her gaze refused to move away from their joined hands, wanting to pull all that warmth closer, but aware enough to remember that she was conscious of personal boundaries, even if her friend wasn't. In the end, all she could do was twitch her hands and flick her gaze between them and her partner.

Hitsugi wanted to poke fun at her, she really did, but her friend chose that moment to curl up even more as a violent tremor ran through her body, accidentally pulling her closer with a badly suppressed whimper. Sighing, she let go of Shizuku's hands and headed to the hallway closet. The flash of disappointment in purple eyes did not go unnoticed, but that would be put aside for now. Health first.

"Stay." she said firmly, knowing that behind her the shivering girl had started to move, albeit very slowly. "Ichihara-san will be bringing you a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate in just a minute. I will retrieve blankets." She took another look at the note, mentally checked off the instructions, and searched the closet for the thickest blankets they had. If heat was what Shizuku needed, she would bury the girl under as many blankets as possible.

When she returned, Shizuku had only moved enough to position the cup of hot chocolate that had been delivered down on the armrest. A practical move, since she wasn't yet capable of holding it still. The maid who had been fretting over the girl rushed to take the blankets from Hitsugi. In the time it took her to open her mouth to speak, the maid had unfolded the blankets and spread them across their patient.

"You shouldn't warm your limbs first. It will hurt you more in the end. Focus on warming your body for now. Can we get a scarf for her?" She directed the last question at the maid, who nodded sharply and went off to get the requested item. "Are you feeling warmer yet?"

Shizuku hummed instead of speaking, blurry eyes tracking her partner's every movement. The lack of protest at being treated like a child was a major sign that she was not feeling well. "Mm okay." she mumbled slowly.

"You would surely feel better if you drank the hot chocolate." Hitsugi picked up the forgotten cup and held it out. After a long second of neither moving, she raised an eyebrow. "Unless you would prefer to have me feed you myself."

Her friend blinked slowly as her mind processed the statement. She sluggishly looked down at her arms, considered the idea of having to hold the cup, then made the only decision her tired mind could accept. "Nnnkay."

"It would truly be better if I were to...ah. Come again?" That was unexpected. There had been no protest, no shouting, no deadpan rejection, no second thought, no...anything Shizuku-like. Now she found herself pinned by an expectant stare that was surprisingly focused, if only in expectation of a warm drink.

"A scarf, just like you asked Hitsugi-san." The maid had returned, and wasted no time in wrapping up the top of Shizuku's head at the older girl's order. The note said to wrap her up completely, head included. Left alone with her inactive young friend, who was using what little concentration she had to keep track of the awaited cup of hot chocolate, she plotted her next course of action

"Well, if you insist." she stated gleefully. Planting herself next to the unresponsive girl, carefully so as to avoid spilling, she held up the cup to Shizuku's lips. "Drink." Without any protest, her order was obeyed.

She had to admit that, despite her adoration of her partner's absolutely stubborn nature, she was most definitely enjoying this passive side. Shizuku had never cared for being coddled when they were younger, but for the past few years she had become particularly stubborn about it, _especially_ when it was Hitsugi who insisted on doing the coddling. That left the older girl with sadly few chances to pamper her friend these days.

"I wonder if we should make you some hot soup as well." she mused absently. Shizuku let out disagreeing hum in response. Or rather, what sounded like a disagreeing hum. "Considering the fact that you are currently permitting me to feed you, I believe all opinions you hereby utter shall be accepted with caution, then immediately disregarded."

Sleepy purple eyes stared at her without a single moment of comprehension lightening them. Shizuku was still shivering, and looked as if she would topple over with the slightest push. It was a shame really, because she could think of so many ways to take advantage of the situation for some fun, but it was hard to do so when Shizuku _stared _at her like that. She looked like a puppy. A fluffy shivering ball of a red-haired, purple-eyed puppy that was begging to be cuddled.

The lack of reaction her requests were getting was somewhat off-putting as well. It was hardly any fun teasing someone who couldn't react.

Hitsugi broke the staring contest, sighed, and took another look at the note. It consisted solely of instructions on how to care for patients suffering hypothermia, which could essentially be summed up to "get them warm" and "keep them warm." Frowning, she flipped the note in search of more information, and found nothing but a quickly scrawled line on the back, underlined several times for emphasis. Next to it, a small caricature of who she assumed was the nurse Captain was giving her a thumbs up.

'_Body heat works best._'

...Undeniable proof that great minds truly do think alike.

Shizuku let out a jaw popping yawn, snuggled deeper into her cave of blankets, and continued to stare with half-lidded eyes at her partner.

"If you aren't going to eat," Shizuku mumbled, which she took as a denial, "then perhaps we should get you to bed." There was no protest to the proclamation, or any reaction at all. She wondered why food alone would garner some sort of response, then shrugged it off. "Are you capable of walking? No, nevermind. You need not answer." Not that the girl was about to do so. That left only one option: carry her.

"Donneed. Cawa. Skay." The energy she used to mumble that completely incoherent sentence must have been all she had left, because before she could even finish, she fell asleep.

Hitsugi blinked. "Knowing you as I do, I will assume that you were attempting to form a protest of some sort. I'm uncertain if I should be impressed that, even in your condition, you instinctively reject my offer to help." she huffed, pouting. That said, her partner's opinion was, as she had warned earlier, promptly ignored.

Shizuku really had no right to comment about someone's reluctance to ask for help when she herself was as stubborn about it as they came.

It was a simple matter to relocate Shizuku to her room. The girl was unbelievably light, and even with the blankets, carrying her was a small task. Once in the room, Hitsugi considered how she would get Shizuku tucked in with the least amount of fuss. The bed truly was a much better place for her to recover, no matter how much she was enjoying holding her. The girl in her arms had given no reaction to show that she was aware of being moved, but, as if sensing that she would be losing her new source of warmth soon, clung tighter to her partner.

Hitsugi twitched. "No, no. You'll have plenty of time for this later. Health comes first." She scolded herself for the momentary lapse in concentration her friend had unconsciously caused.

After managing to free her neck from her partner's grip, she made quick work of settling Shizuku into bed, sitting herself at the edge. "There now. Is that not better?" Shizuku grumbled at the loss of warmth in answer, making her smile. The shivering girl was scooting herself as close to Hitsugi as she could, unhappy with the sudden change in temperature and attempting to fix it by hugging the older girl as tightly as possible.

Even though her work here was done, she made no move to leave. She was reluctant to leave Shizuku at the best of times, much less when she was sick, trembling, and wholly uncaring of personal boundaries.

The note _had _said that body heat worked best, and Shizuku certainly seemed to agree. It couldn't hurt to indulge, just for a small time. All in the name of her partner's health, of course. The thought of Shizuku's reaction should she wake up in such a position was rather tempting as well. The question to answer was whether or not the chance for a reaction that could end up being worth several months (years?) of teasing merited spending one night in a not-so-uncomfortable position.

Truly, that was no question at all.

~**Early Morning~**

Of all the pleasant ways there were to wake up to, frantic scrabbling and all the blankets disappearing wasn't usually one of them. In Hitsugi's case, it was quite possibly the _best _way to wake up, after the necessary fleeting moment of concern and dismay was over with. She had watched over her partner until she fell asleep herself after all, so she would honestly prefer to still _be _asleep. It wasn't even light out. Sleepily, she dragged herself to the other side of the bed and rested her chin on the edge, staring down at her now awake friend, sitting underneath the blankets she had dragged with her.

Shizuku, however, was wide awake, and on the verge of having a heart attack, it seemed. At any rate, she was definitely having trouble forming any sound more complicated than "wha." Hitsugi contented herself with passively waiting for her friend to pull herself together. She absently noted that the scarlet tint on Shizuku's face was a good sign of recovered health, but she still looked dazed.

"Hitsugi-san! What are you doing here? What, what am _I _doing here? When did I get home? _How_ did I get home? And, why? Why were you in bed with me? More importantly, _where are my clothes_?" Shizuku woozily demanded, utterly frazzled by what she had woken to. Hitsugi might have even answered, had she been allowed, but the other girl was giving her no room to do so.

"If you're jus'-"

"Shizuku." She interrupted.

"-playin' 'round with me, this is-"

"Shizuku."

"too much-"

"_Shizuku_."

"-don't you thi...eh?"

"It's early."

"Um."

"Come back to bed."

"But!"

"I'm tired."

"But I. You. This..." Shizuku stuttered.

"You took the blankets."

"Ah. Well. "

"It's _cold_."

"But. Clothes."

"You have some."

"Not enough-!"

"Soon, please."

"..." She opened her mouth to speak, shut it, then dropped her shoulders and head. As the adrenaline wore off, she calmed down enough to realize that it was really hard to concentrate, or think, or move, or anything, really. And she was cold. Really, really cold. "I...okay."

Pleased with the submission, Hitsugi rolled back to her now distressingly cold side of the bed and stayed up long enough to ensure Shizuku fixed the blankets, then fell back asleep as soon as she was warm again.

Ten minutes later, the still awake Shizuku was firmly convinced that she was cursed. She was tired and floating in the dark space between awareness and oblivion. Her mind refused to surrender its hard earned consciousness, but her body begged for rest. She felt as if the coldness seeping into her bones wouldn't go away, no matter how much she curled up or rubbed her arms and legs. In desperation she found herself moving as close as possible to her partner. Hitsugi was _radiating _heat, and she was just so cold, and before she knew it she was snuggling into that heat without even caring that she should be embarrassed for a list of reasons a mile long.

Hitsugi, alerted by Shizuku's shuffling, then awakened by her touch, snorted softly in tired amusement. Her friend was far too stubborn for her own good, and yet, at the same time, gave in so easily. Rolling over, she pulled the unresisting girl closer, half expecting her to come to her senses and jump off the bed again.

Shizuku surprised her yet again, by continuing her new habit of ignoring personal boundaries and throwing an arm over her. She refused to move as the shorter girl made herself comfortable, afraid that any action on her part would scare her away. It was, after all, extremely rare for Shizuku to initiate contact of any sort outside sparring.

"Maybe you should get hypothermia more often." Hitsugi mused with a yawn, once the other girl was asleep again. "Although...it's a little hard to breathe." Shizuku was keeping her in place with all her not-so-inconsiderable strength, as if her captive would escape if given even the smallest bit of leeway. Not that she minded. No. She definitely did _not_ mind.

She made a mental note to give the head nurse a bonus for this wonderful idea.

~**Next Day, Infirmary~**

"I expected this out of that one there, but how did _you _manage to get sick, Kaicho?" Ai snickered as she took their temperatures, Shizuku twitching as she tried not to pout at having to accept the brightly colored medicine in her hands.

"Shizuku stole all the blankets." Hitsugi answered with the straightest face she could muster, causing the dual-wielder to fumble the syrupy liquid.

"What? I did not!" She protested, cheeks red.

"You need not apologize to me Shizuku. I do _not _blame you. You haven't any control over your actions when asleep or delirious."

"I didn't!"

"Oh, you're being honest. Tell me, how much of last night do you remember?"

"Erk. Ah. Well. The. The last thing I can remember was...being in the locker room? No. Umm. I think I saw Uryuu-san after...and then. I was...really cold? And there was hot chocolate!"

"...Hot chocolate is the _only _thing you are able recall about the entire night?"

"Huh? Am I wrong?" she asked, visibly wilting in disappointment and embarrassment.

"...No. There was hot chocolate." Hitsugi crossed her arms and sulked at the waste some of her effort had been. It was always more fun when Shizuku _knew _that the things she was teasing her about were true. If she didn't remember it happening, it as good as didn't, in her mind. She was far more likely to produce an amusing reaction if she couldn't dismiss the comment as a product of her partner's far too overactive imagination.

"You do know that you were in the infirmary for an hour before I hauled you home, right?" Ai interjected, wondering how severe the girl's symptoms had been. Not out of concern, but personal curiosity. The girl was obviously fine, except for the loss of memory. "You were sleeping on your feet. That maid of yours was makin' a fuss too, like always."

"I was?" Shizuku frowned in mild worry. Yes, her memory of anything after training was foggy, but she hadn't thought it was _that _bad. If she had truly been that out of it, it would certainly go a long way towards explaining why she had woken up clinging to her partner, in her bed, in...no. She was not going to think about it. That was too much for her to handle outside of her room, where she could suffocate herself in peace.

"Hmph. Not that any of the others were better off. The newbies didn't even make it to infirmary without help. Weaklings."

"Uh. Aren't you being a little harsh?"

"_You_ were the one who complained about the newbies being "weak willed, arrogant little jerks who have more fluff in their brains than the sheep they act like" if I remember right."

"...My. Those are some resentful words there, Shizuku. Bravo."

"Eh? I said that? When? Why?"

"When you and Jodo dragged in a couple of the rookies who fainted. You said a lot of other things too. Thanks for that, by the way. I don't think I've laughed so hard in a while."

"I, I don't remember any of that. At all."

"Clear proof that you remain blameless for any actions you made last night. You were not in your right mind."

"Guh. Hey, wait! I couldn't have moved, even if I wanted to! You were holding me too tightly!"

"Oh...yes. I suppose I was."

"Wha! How could you forget? Please just, drop the subject."

"However, to clarify, _you _were the one clinging to me. Rather tightly, if I may add. You refused to let me go after you woke up the first time. I merely gave in to the inevitable and made myself comfortable."

"I what? You could have gotten away if you wanted."

"Perhaps, but doing so would have required far more effort than I was willing to put forth."

"...Are you admitting that you just wanted to take advantage of the situation?"

Ai watched them leave, still quibbling (mostly one-sided), without comment. Not even an injured student being dragged in shook her from her thoughts, the commotion not registering as she considered the conversation she had just witnessed.

"Was that the Kaicho and Miyamoto-san? Miyamoto-san looked a little flushed." Kotake Rina remarked, slightly out of breath from carrying the student in. Having spotted the woman in the corner, she wasn't sure if she should be more alarmed at the lack of enthusiasm the Captain displayed, or at the intense look of deep thought that she wore instead. "Did something happen?"

"I was just playing around with that note, but..." Ai muttered thoughtfully, ignoring the judge's questions. "Hmph. You learn something new everyday. I wish you luck, Shizuku."

"...I don't know what you're rambling about, as usual, but I think your students need you to go back to work." Rina sent the nurse a flat look of barely concealed annoyance. The imaginary daggers, while doing nothing to hurt her physically, garnered enough of her attention to snap her out of her thoughts.

"Oi! Sharp eyes! When'd you get here?" Ai grinned, mood changing in an instant.

"A minute ago. Did you hear anything I just said? And don't call me that!"

**~End~**

**And another story for you. It ended up being a lot longer than I thought. Well. It's also a completely different story than I had planned. It morphed along the way, and I just went with it. Again, any errors you see, don't be afraid to point them out. Loudly. Whenever I try and go through for grammar edits, I end up getting distracted changing sentences and whatnot. There are a few parts on here that I'm not exactly happy with, but at the same time, I like it? Weird. Now that this is done, I can put some more effort on the second fanart I've got in the works, though the season for it has passed. Ah well.**


	6. Incident with Red

Shizuku twitched in her bed. There was noise. Loud noises. Outside her room. At...two in the morning. She twitched as another loud bang echoed down the hallway. She shoved her pillow on top of her head. If she didn't hear it, it wasn't happening.

BAM

It _wasn't_ happening.

BAMBAMKNOCK

Nope. Nothing was happening.

BANG

There was absolutely nothing going on.

WHAP

At all. It was obviously a figment of her imagination.

THUD

…She was _not _concerned.

HISSSSSSSSSS

It was all just a dream, after all.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

A really. Bad. Dream.

BARKBARKBARK

SLAM

"What's going _on_ in here?"

She froze as all other sounds halted for mere seconds before footsteps (human and animal) headed in her direction. Not that she noticed, since the moment her exclamation was uttered, she saw something far more concerning.

Red.

Everything was red.

_Everything_.

Bright. Red.

Lamps.

Streamers.

Paint.

Puppets.

All. Red.

"Shizuku! Did I wake you! My apologies. I may have gotten carried away in my excitement."

...Oh. Hitsugi was wearing a kimono for some reason. Red, as expected.

"Oh, yes. Meet Tom Wolfe."

The dog really did look like a wolf. A puppy wolf. Dyed red. Her eyes were starting to hurt.

"Come join us! Together we shall make this a night to remember!"

Ah. That was confetti on the floor, not paint. Some of it was stuck to the dog, along with other questionable items. Hardly noticeable against its fur.

"You are up earlier than expected, but that merely means we shall have more time to enjoy ourselves."

"It's...red."

"Admiring the decorations? I haven't yet completed adorning the house. I have another box of lamps and several rolls of streamers left. Perhaps you would enjoy helping?"

She gave up trying to make sense of it all.

"...That's a very nice kimono, Hitsugi-san."

"I have prepared one for you as well. If you don't feel up to the challenge of putting it on, you may leave yourself in my hands. I assure you, it would be no inconvenie-uh. Shizuku?"

"You have confetti in your hair."

"How thoughtful of you, to take care of that."

"Your hair is really soft."

"...I honestly have no idea how I want to respond to that."

"...Hitsugi-san."

"Yes?"

"I'm going back to sleep now."

"Are you cer-ah." Click. "Okay."

"Hmph. That wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting."

BARK

"Now that you mention it, she _was _more tired than usual at dinner. The chances for a good reaction truly are hit or miss when she is in such a state. Not that this was a _bad _reaction, per se."

BARKBARK

"Well said, my small comrade. That _is_ what makes her so amusing, among other things."

BARK

"My thoughts exactly. We have four more hours to prepare. Let us resume our work with all our energy!"

**~End~**

**Something quick I did to help me remember another fic I was planning out. How did I forget it in the first place? Well. I don't type things until I have the entire plan mapped out. Is this a bad idea? Probably. Will that other one ever get typed? ...Maybe. Anyway, enjoy this sadly slapped together quick type of a fic. (But still edited to the best of my abilities. No beta on this one. Sorry. Lets hope FFN stops mashing my words together.)**


	7. Incident in the Hall

The sun was at its peak, bearing over her at the noon hour. Its rays were unrelentingly piercing upon her skin, and she could feel her internal temperature rising to dangerous levels. The air was dry, scorching its way into the lungs of whatever pitiful creatures like her that depended on its presence was foolish enough to wander outdoors. The slight breeze that wafted through the air was of no relief. What alleviation it could have brought was ruined by the heat it carried with it.

Days like these made Shizuku glad she wore the white uniform of the student council, rather than the heat collecting death trap that the rest of the students were subjected to. It wasn't, she knew, a consideration when the color was chosen, but she was grateful for it nonetheless. Even if white _was_ notoriously difficult to keep clean, and its brightness attracted more attention than she was naturally comfortable with (which _was_ the main reason it was chosen).

At the moment, however, she only cared that it kept her slightly cooler than she would have been otherwise as she made her trek across the outer edge of the campus, running a quick round on the lookout for wayward students. She was already starting to sweat though, and after a few minutes, she stopped for a quick break in the shadow of one of the training halls. Double checking to ensure no students were around to witness her lapse, she let out a huff and leaned against the wall.

None of the students would think much of her taking a break. It was more than understandable in this heat. Appearances, however, had to be maintained. She may not have been overly comfortable being in the spotlight, but she had grown well accustomed to it. She was, after all, the partner to the one in charge of the school (the lord, master, ruler, queen, or general, depending on what said leader's mood was when asked). The students needed _someone _to look to when her partner pulled one of her usual stunts after all.

Tatewaki was naturally too busy with her other duties to interact with the students much. Personally, she believed that Tatewaki had no interest in listening to students complain about Hitsugi-san, so she let Shizuku deal with it instead. Making nice with the student populace wouldn't bring her closer to her idol, and so didn't require her attention.

Sighing with a mix of resignation and exasperation, she stared out into the distance. The forest dominated most of her view, with the mountains in the background hazy from distance. Though she could only see trees, she knew that underneath the gently swaying canopy of green, there lay countless cliff edges, deep gorges, mysterious caves, peaceful clearings, powerful waterfalls, and gentle streams.

She let her mind wander to the childhood she had spent exploring those vast lands, letting the sounds of the trees rustling and birds singing fade to a pleasant hum.

"I'd think, if you were going to take a break, you would do so inside, where you would be cool as well."

"Agh!" Shizuku jumped and turned to face the intruder faster than most could blink. "I, Inori-san! What are you doing here?"

Sae looked amused and impressed at the speed of the reaction, but mostly amused. "I was just heading to the hall. Did I disturb a deep thought?"

"No...it was nothing." She looked away, cheeks reddening at being caught off guard. They darkened even further at the smothered chuckle from the other girl.

"So what are you _supposed _to be doing out here in this heat? Chasing students down?" she asked curiously, though it was well hidden behind the teasing.

"I was doing a quick round, and I only took a small break!" Shizuku objected.

"You looked rather out of it to me. Perhaps you should visit Uryuu-san for a checkup." The twitch and wince that suggestion caused made it difficult for Sae to keep from laughing. She didn't know why her "rival" had suddenly become paranoid about anything concerning the Captain, but it made for great teasing opportunities. None of the discreet inquiries she'd made into the matter had turned anything up, either. Nothing except bright smiles and praises for the vice principal's willingness to help out.

"...It was _nothing_. Just drop it, please." Accepting the expected acquiescence with a grateful smile, she discreetly examined her unexpected companion. Sae was carrying a large, bulky bag with her, and the only clue to her planned activities was the gym outfit she was wearing. "Were you going to train?" It was a less than subtle change of topic, but she knew that the other girl wouldn't press the issue.

"Ah." For once, the normally calm sword bearer looked embarrassed. The expression lasted only a second, amounting to little more than a flash of emotion across her face, a slight shift in posture, and a quick averting of the eyes before her countenance was back to normal. "Not quite." Suddenly those eyes turned calculating. "Actually, this might be something you can help me with. Come on."

And like that she found herself being dragged into the empty training hall. She had to take a second to orient herself, surprised by the sudden change in attitude. Before she could work up the courage to voice an objection, however, she was taken into the building, and had something shoved into her arms. Prioritizing the foreign objects over an explanation, she stared blankly at the things in her arms.

Skates.

Rollerblades, to be exact.

"Umm. Why am I holding these?" she finally managed to get out. The look she earned for that question was part tolerance, part shame. It was odd, to say the least, and her mind couldn't figure out what to make of it.

"Use them." Sae's tone implied that she should have known that from the start, and she fought the urge to grumble at the slight.

"But. Why?" It was a valid question, but it was ignored.

"You can't?"

"My ability to use these is not the question. I just want to know why I _should _use them." Her pride demanded she retaliate by putting those demonic things on and show Sae how they should be used, but the rest of her (thankfully) smothered those headstrong instincts and replaced them with a good deal of caution instead.

"I'm using it for analysis. Come on, it couldn't hurt, could it? You wanted to take a break from your work anyway, didn't you? Nothing is going on at the moment that requires you immediately report to Hitsugi-san, so I'm sure you have time to spare." She cajoled, trying to convince Shizuku to help her.

Shizuku didn't reply, mind working overtime to pierce together exactly what the other girl was aiming for. She said it was for analysis, but what kind? Not to mention that she had pointedly said that she was only taking a _small_ break. And while the papers she carried weren't urgent by Hitsugi-san's standards, Kotake-san had been quite anxious to get them through.

"No thank you." she finally replied. The slight disappointment in Sae's eyes made her falter just a bit, but she held her ground.

"Well. Alright then." Sae gave the rollerblades being handed back to her a deep look of concentration, before nodding at her fellow council member.

Shizuku fidgeted in guilt. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, or that she disliked the other girl, but...they were _rollerblades_. She had a short and terrible history with the things, and had successfully managed to avoid them for years, despite her partner's occasional insistence that she use them. It wasn't until she caught Sae mumbling as she tried to work out how to get them on that she gave in, inwardly cursing her own gullibility.

"Alright fine, but you have to do it with me." She didn't let the surprised expression that she had guessed the remaining contents of the bag get to her, too focused on trying not to glare at the wheeled contraptions.

"If you insist." The plain amusement, and strictly hidden relief, soothed her for the moment. She really did like Inori-san after all. Whatever the reason behind this sudden decision, it brought the girl genuine happiness. How was she to argue with that? Other than the fact that she was now being brought face to face with one of the few things she avoided like her life depended on it.

"Umm. I'll try my best but, I've never been really good with these."

"Come now. It can't be that bad, right?"

~**A Short While Later~**

Tea rushed across the edge of the silent campus, completely alone in the area. It was hot as hell outside, and instead of being in a nice, air conditioned classroom, she was outside, all but jogging across several buildings, trying to get the papers she was charged with delivering to Tatewaki before the girl got anxious. It wasn't a job she was particularly happy with having. Not only was it hot out, but she was wearing _black _of all colors, and she didn't even care much for the spiky haired girl. She did a lot of work around the campus, sure, but she wasn't the most personable girl around, and she was a demanding taskmaster.

Not that the other two in charge weren't, but Amachi accepted unexpected delays like a child accepted the ice cream man; with sheer happiness. The strain of getting things done was pushed off herself and the ones who'd made the error, and instead unintentionally pushed onto the only leader who bothered to care; her partner. Miyamoto expected a lot of people as well, but if something were to go wrong, she was generally running around _with _people trying to get it fixed. It was hard to dislike someone who looked even more harassed than the unlucky student volunteers caught in a jam, and yet was still so willing to help out.

Jogging past the training hall, she paused as muffled sounds caught her attention. The halls were mildly sound protected, and near impossible to peak in as a result of the nature of the hoshitori system, but not so well soundproofed as to hide the fact that they were in use.

It wasn't odd that there were sounds emitting from it. For regular exercising, students contented themselves with the outdoors, but the ones with specialized training tended to use the halls quite often. What _was _odd was that someone was using them at the hottest part of the day, when the AC system for the halls was currently out of commission.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she slowed her pace and crept carefully to the front of the only hall being used. The sheer amount of sword bearers at Tenchi meant that it could have been any number of people, but the sounds didn't sound like they were being produced by swords meeting, but rather from someone falling. And...was that some sort of rolling she heard?

Pulling the front door open just enough to get a decent look, she had the dubious pleasure of watching the school's vice principal run straight into Inori Sae, crashing them both into the ground. Stilling her natural instincts to help the only sane leader of the school, she watched as both groaned in dismay. Inori laughed softly after she recovered, but didn't bother to move. Miyamoto was the first to do so, pulling the poor person she'd tackled up with her so that they were both sitting up, and leaning towards each other.

Her jaw dropped when she saw Inori shake her head and smile in a way she'd never seen before, causing Miyamoto to blush and look down. What in the world was going on here? She couldn't see any reason to explain how they had fallen, but neither looked too uncomfortable with their position. Closing the door quickly, but quietly, she nearly ran to her destination, almost mowing down a couple first years as she hurried onwards. The others weren't going to _believe _this.

~**Right After~**

"Whoa, she sure was in a hurry." Yuuki stared after the high school student who had bolted past them. "Wonder where the fire is."

"If it was important, we'll know sooner or later. Anyway, where is Miyamoto-san? She had papers to deliver. She should have walked right past here!" Miri growled in frustration.

"...Seriously. You have to _stop_ this. It's creepy!" The taller first year pulled at her longtime friend's arm helplessly. This fixation on the poor student council member was starting to be too much! She was really lucky that Miyamoto didn't make a big deal out of it, though the gods knew it had to be straining even _her _saintly tolerance_._

"How is it creepy?!"

"You're _stalking_ her! That's the definition of cree-oi! Where are you going?!"

"To see if she needs help. Miyamoto-san always gets things done as promptly as possible. Perhaps she met trouble of some sort."

"Oh for the love of!" Yuuki growled as she followed her determined friend into the heat. She moaned as the heat immediately starting scorching her. She really didn't want to be here, trailing after the obsessed girl, to help someone who probably didn't need help. She could think of a thousand things she'd rather be doing other than Miyamoto-watching. "She could be anywhere! The campus is huge! Maybe she had something else to do, or she came in through the other entrance! She could have gone somewhere else entirely!"

"Doubt it. There isn't anyone out right no-do you hear that?" Miri abruptly slowed down, looking around intently. "There's noise."

"There's lots of noise. Birds, people, wind." Yuuki said with annoyance. Reasoning with her was impossible.

"No. Something else. There! Come on!" Grabbing her friend's hand, she pulled her to the training halls, passing them by quickly until she came upon the one in use.

"I seriously doubt that Miyamoto-san is in there. Anyone can use these." This was really starting to get ridiculous. No. That's a lie. This had gotten ridiculous a month ago.

"Just a look. Let's go." Miri took off without waiting, leaving her friend to sigh before running after her.

Catching up with her at the door, she waited impatiently for the shorter girl to open the door enough for them to peak in. Miri cautiously pulled apart the doors, peering into the hall. Above her, Yuuki did the same.

There were two people inside the hall, one of which Yuuki was dismayed to realize _was _Miyamoto-san. Miri would be unbearable for the next week after this, having been proven right. The other person inside was, surprisingly, Inori-san. She hadn't been aware the two were so close.

It made sense, since the Mikado/Inori pair had been on the student council the longest, that the two earth swords would be at least somewhat friendly with each other. She had just never seen them interact much outside of their duties. There had never seemed to be much of a grudge between them, though they were technically rivals, but they didn't exactly go out of their way to talk to each other.

With that in mind, she couldn't be blamed for nearly falling at the sight of the joined hands. Then she realized that the crouching Inori was no doubt just about to help the sitting Miyamoto up, and let the shock pass.

Predictably, Miri _didn't_ come to the same conclusion, if her quiet gasp was any indication. Closing the doors with the same caution that she had opened them, the shorter girl stood frozen for half a second before she walked away in numb shock.

Stomach sinking, Yuuki once again followed behind her friend. Something was about to go wrong here, and she wasn't sure which side she was going to sympathize with more; Miri's or Miyamoto's.

Suddenly stopping, Miri dropped to her knees in the middle of the area and stared helplessly at her tall friend.

"I don't believe it. I _can't _believe it. To think that Miyamoto-san, with Inori-san. Of all people!"

"_Don't_ go jumping to conclusions here Miri. We don't know what was going on, or what the whole story is. There was nothing to see there."

"But! Miyamoto-san! She! They were!"

Yuuki groaned as she tried to figure out the most tactful way to get through this. A difficult problem, as her first instinct was to shake the girl until she came to her senses. Miri was starting to babble nonsense, and her main priority was to get her to calm down and see reason before something bad happened.

"Umm. Are you two alright?"

"No! Miyamoto-san and Inori-san are! They were, they were doing things!"

Something bad like _that._

The poor track member looked utterly lost as she stared at the hysterical girl, and looked to the calm one for a sensible answer.

"It wasn't like that! They were together, that's all! Don't go spreading rumors!"

"But they were holding hands! And they looked happy!"

"It's not a friggin' crime to look happy!"

"It was different! Inori-san _never_ smiles like that!"

"Stop reading into things! And thanks, but I can take care of her." Yuuki said to the girl watching them curiously. She hoped this wouldn't go too wrong. The track member gave them both a dubious stare, before nodding and taking off again. Letting out a breath in relief, she focused on calming her friend. Disaster averted.

Hopefully.

~**With The Track Member**~

Karin shook her head as she left the two girls, mind whirling as she thought about what she had just heard. She was so deep in her thoughts, she nearly passed up the rest of her team, and had to backtrack to the field.

"Yo Karin! Geez, are you still sleeping or something? You nearly ran right past here!" one of the seniors snickered.

"I was distracted! I ran into two weird girls on the way over. One of them was babbling something about Miyamoto and Inori." she huffed in response. She shook her head and glared at her fellow members.

"That so? And it was so odd, you can't even think straight no more?" another senior ribbed. The others laughed, and her glare deepened.

"One of them said she saw the two doing..._things_." That was enough to silence the girls. They stared at her in disbelief.

"Wait, what? Are we thinking about the same people here? _The _Miyamoto Shizuku and Inori Sae?" one of the girls sputtered out.

"No other two called Miyamoto or Inori. I swear. The other girl didn't even try to deny that she saw them either, just said that maybe they had "read the situation wrong" or something. Said they were holding hands and everything."

"That's impossible! Aren't they rivals?"

"Forbidden love, maybe?"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

~**Meanwhile~**

"I'm telling you the truth! I saw them! Miyamoto was on top of her and everything! They were really close, and smiling!"

"Oh come on. Miyamoto? Really?"

"Yeah. I thought Miyamoto had a thing for the Kaicho."

"I'm _telling you_. I saw it! There's no other way to read the situation!"

"There are plenty of ways to _read the situation_. And anyway, they're rivals!"

"...I don't know..."

"Don't tell me you believe this?"

"It's just, Miyamoto and Inori aren't really rivals. Kaicho and that brat Mikado are actually more the rivals. Their partners are just along for the ride. It wouldn't be a stretch to think they'd be friends...and maybe more."

"But that's! I mean...yeah. Okay I can see friends, but nothing more!"

"It's the _truth_ I say!"

~**Infirmary~**

"Captain, we have another patient." Ai looked up from her paperwork expectantly, almost happily.

"What's the prognosis?"

"Errr. Just a sprain." The woman wilted and grumbled.

"Hnph. In that case, I'll leave it to you." she said with annoyed disappointment. She hardly ever got anything interesting these days, except for when she supervised guard training.

"Alright then." The student sighed and returned to the front of the clinic, leaving the door slightly open. The patient wasn't making a big fuss, and only a soft murmur of voices reached the office.

Not quite sulking, Ai returned to the paperwork in front of her with all the joy of a student facing the finals. Rin, sprawled on the edge of the desk, flicked her ears at the staccato rhythm of the pencil's eraser hitting the desk that started up.

"Must be nice, being able to relax like that. I really envy you." She drawled out the "really" for emphasis. "Though maybe a break for myself might be in ord-"

"No way! Miyamoto?" The loud gasp from her student interrupted her, followed quickly by some shushing. An eyebrow raised as not-so-silent voices argued excitedly, and she managed to catch a few words that implied a romantic liaison of some sort between Miyamoto and a rival. She couldn't see how the Kaicho's harried partner could be involved in this sort of conversation. She was too shy for something like this, without even mentioning that the only "rival" that could be connected to the short girl was that Inori kid.

The thought of _those _two being involved in any sort of romance was so far out of the realm of possibility that she wasn't sure she wanted to laugh at the idea, or roll her eyes at the blatant over exaggeration teenage girls were known for.

This might, at least, be amusing for a time. Stroking Rin slowly, she wondered how long it would take Miyamoto to catch on.

~**Track Field**~

Kotake Rina held back a groan of exasperation as yet _another _pair of students slowed down to chat. She didn't know what was going on with these girls today, but whatever hot new rumor had them distracted, it was causing problems already. She'd already had one girl sent to the infirmary, she really didn't want another incident popping up.

"Ow! My wrist!"

She just had to jinx it, didn't she?

Jogging over to the pair, she noticed that neither seemed to care about the fact that one of them was injured, and instead were arguing fiercely.

"There's just no way! Everyone knows that Miyamoto is completely devoted to the Kaicho!"

"Maybe so, but devotion isn't love!"

"That doesn't mean she's fooling around with Inori of all people! They hardly even talk!"

"They're both on the council, they probably talk all the time behind closed doors!"

"Yeah. With the _rest of the council_. You don't see them eating lunch together or anything like that. They barely even exchange more than a simple "hello" in the halls!"

"Of course they wouldn't be doing things where their partners can catch them. They obviously don't want to attract attention and incite their partner's rage!"

Rina slowed to a walk, than a stop as she got closer to the pair. The conversation she'd just heard bounced around in her mind, refusing to settle or form any semblance of sense. She partly snapped out of her daze when the two finally noticed her, and absently gave the okay for the injured one to head on to the infirmary. The other followed, continuing their argument under their breaths.

She didn't know what that conversation was about, and quite frankly, she didn't want to know. She felt sorry for Miyamoto though, because by the end of the day, the entire school would be joining in the argument.

~**The Next Day**~

Shizuku heaved a shuttering sigh as she closed the door to Hitsugi-san's office, not bothered by her partner's sudden interested stare being directed at her.

"Something the matter, Shizuku?" came the curious inquiry.

"Oh, ah. No. It's nothing." she answered. The raised eyebrow said that her answer wasn't satisfactory, but the matter was let go. "Did you finish those papers, Hitsugi-san?"

"Yes, yes. They are fresh and ready for you to deliver."

"Alright then. Thank you." Ignoring the distasteful face being directed at the stack of papers, she grabbed them and headed back out into the fray, steeling herself to face the challenge of walking to the faculty room.

The trip proved to be even more arduous than expected, and she all but slammed the faculty room door when she finally arrived, confused and paranoid. The teachers looked up for a moment before returning to their rest. Ai and Rina waved her over to the empty seat at their table, neither one surprised that she looked about ready to draw her sword at anything that moved behind her.

"I think you could use a break, yeah?" Ai smirked when Shizuku dropped into the chair.

"I don't know what's going on. I feel like everyone is staring at me, but as soon as I turn around, no one looks at me. And then I can see people talking quietly whenever I come around, while glancing my way a lot. They won't look me in the eye though, and they scatter when I get too close." she said helplessly.

"Are you sure you aren't being paranoid?" Rina raised a valid point. None of them believed it was true.

"I haven't had to deal with anything like this since the hoshitori was started, and even then, it wasn't _this _bad. I can't think of any reason for this kind of reaction."

"Well, if I'd have to guess, I'd say that the rumor of your tragic love affair with the Inori girl is on everyone's mind now, and they're re-examining your every move in light of this new revelation."

Shizuku stared blankly at the nurse, a flat look on pure disbelief on her face. Giving up on getting a straight answer from the older woman, she turned to the judge instead, who laughed nervously.

"Actually, she isn't really exaggerating on that one. That rumor started going around yesterday. Once it hit the dorm, well. Yeah." Rina winced in sympathy as the girl froze and blinked several times, trying to wrap her head around the information.

"I'm sorry...but did you just say that the students...that they believe that I'm having a, a...with Inori-san?" she choked out, almost all emotion drained from her voice except for tightly controlled horror. She couldn't even bring herself to say the word "affair." It was just. Wrong. So very, very wrong. "Why would they even think that?!"

"Apparently you two were seen together." Ai answered calmly, feral eyes watching every move the younger girl made.

"Seen toge-oh." Shizuku flinched. "How could they think that we were doing something like _that _when we were only?! It wasn't even! Why would they say that?"

Taking pity on the frustrated girl, Rina tried her best to cheer her up. "Look. They're only rumors, and rumors always happen. Teenage girls have a habit of taking anything, blowing it completely out of proportion, then regurgitating it back to anyone who will listen. No doubt someone saw one little thing, and drew their own conclusions about it. It'll pass in time. These things always do."

"But, but, Hitsugi-san!" the girl moaned, head in her hands. The older two grimaced in understanding. If the Kaicho got a hold of this, and it was a miracle she hadn't already, then poor Shizuku would have to say goodbye to peace. Permanently. There was no way Hitsugi would pass up such a golden opportunity to stir up some fun. "I'm doomed."

Neither had any encouraging words to offer for _that _problem.

~**Student Council Office**~

When Shizuku finally made her way back to the main office, she was tired and stressed from the shock of the explanation behind the stares. She fought the urge to blush fiercely every time someone looked her way, and it was with great relief, and great apprehension, that she closed the door behind her.

Except that she sensed something.

Hitsugi gave her normal greeting, whined about the work, and ordered Tatewaki away as usual, but it was different. Off. There was something underneath the normalcy, and it triggered every survival instinct in her body. She just couldn't put her finger on what was _causing _it.

"Oi Hitsugi! What the hell is up with putting us on rotation all week?" Mikado Akira shouted, making her typical loud entrance. Her distracted partner followed significantly more quietly, lost in thought.

"Mikado-san. How nice of you to drop by." Hitsugi kept her voice even, and amused.

"Don't give me that! Explain this!"

"You came all this way to have me read this to you? I believe your partner would have more than sufficed for such a task." The implied slight in the question had Akira turning red with rage and annoyance.

"That's not why I came. I want you to tell me why!"

"You're being too loud, Akira." The girl in question blanched at her partner's exasperated sigh. "I can't even think properly."

"A lot on your mind, Inori-san?" The Kaicho questioned.

"No, not really. It's just...I noticed some of the students acting oddly today." Her brow furrowed in thought, and Shizuku tried her best not to flinch, feeling the heat crawl up her cheeks.

"Ah yes, I was informed that some new information was attracting much debate among the students." Hitsugi leaned back in her chair, and Shizuku felt dread start to settle in her stomach. "If I remember correctly, the latest iteration of the rumor was that you were planning to steal Shizuku away from me and escape into the sunset, so that the two of you could freely express your love for each other."

All movement in the office came to a halt. Shizuku wanted to melt into the floor.

"Come again?" the bewildered earth sword asked after a second. "They're saying that we're. Miyamoto-san and I? How did something like that start u-ah. I see. That makes sense. Did you know about this?" The last question was directed at the other earth sword, her mind rapidly coming to the conclusion that they had been seen in the hall. They had held on to each other most of the time and, taken out of context, it could be very damning evidence.

"I...yes. Uryuu-san and Kotake-san informed me of this rumor not too long ago." She avoided looking at anyone, feeling their stares bore into her.

"And do you think this came about because someone saw us while we were..." Sae trailed off, seeing the panic in the other girl's eyes and remembering the promise she had made to keep their activities from the Kaicho. She didn't understand what the problem was, but she didn't want to go back on that. "How careless of us, to not notice we were being watched."

"Wait a minute! What the hell is going on here?" Akira finally exploded.

"It's nothing to worry about. It's just a silly rumor."

"What were you two doing together in the first place?"

"Miyamoto-san was kind enough to help me with a problem I was having. Something I had asked _you _to do, but you rejected. Is there a problem with my accepting help from a reliable person like her?" Her voice was calm, and there was a small smile on her face, but the steel behind her words cowed her partner into a shamed submission. "I'm sorry for this idiot bothering you Kaicho, Miyamoto-san. We'll just be leaving."

Hitsugi nodded and watched them leave passively, then turned her attention to enjoying the glowing shade of red that covered Shizuku's face and ears. She made a show of returning her efforts towards paperwork, knowing that every movement she made, every second that went by, drove Shizuku insane from anticipation. Finally, once she thought her partner had reached her last nerve, she spoke up.

"So, what _were _Inori-san and you doing by yourselves."

"I was just helping her!" Shizuku yelped. The sound brought a smirk to her lips. "Those rumors aren't true at all!"

"Of course they aren't." Her blatant dismissal of the rumors took her partner off guard. "You would, after all, give me advance notice if you were to ever leave."

Shizuku stiffened and looked away. "They aren't true, because I wouldn't _ever _leave your side. Not unless you wanted me to."

Hitsugi paused in her writing, refusing to look up into what she knew was a serious, piercing purple gaze that often made her feel more exposed than anything she had ever encountered. "That's a silly thing to say, Shizuku. I would never want you to leave."

Neither said another word after that. They didn't need to. Those few words carried the weight of a thousand more that they would never speak aloud.

And later, as Hitsugi tried vainly to calm her mind for sleep, the unacknowledged part of her that wasn't as confident as she acted prayed to every god that the promise in those words would hold true until they day they died. A world without Shizuku was far too dull to contemplate existing in.

~**End~**

**Aaaaand happy birthday! To ME! Yes. That is right. It is my birthday, and it is currently three in the morning. Why am I still up? To get this out to you people, of course! My present to you. -yawn- I'm really tired though, and it seems my plan to stay up all night is scrapped, because I'm too damned lazy to get up and make a cup of tea. Ah, right. I have not done my regular triple check for spelling and grammar and whatnot errors. In fact, this fic didn't even exist until Monday, and much of it was planned out while getting my teeth drilled at the dentist. Seriously. It was actually two different fics that merged to form this monster, and over half of it was typed out while sliiiightly tipsy. -cough-**

**Anyway. Don't be afraid to drop a note about errors. As I said, this was a rush work, and I haven't thoroughly checked it, nor does it have a beta. (Most of my stories don't, actually.)**

**To the handful of you who are reading this the actual day it is posted, enjoy~**

**The rest of you too, but today is my birthday so firstcomers are **_**special.**_


	8. Incident with Training

Sweat dripped onto her neck, the sun bearing down on her through the canopy of leaves. A light breeze rustled her hair, but it was so hot and humid that it burned almost as much as the sun did. She could feel the water in the air, dragging her tired body down subtly. Her knees ached from long hours of bending, and her feet were numb to all sensation but pain. Every fiber of her being begged for rest, or at the very least some movement.

More sweat dripped from her forehead and found its way into her eyes. The stinging sensation brought out tears in an effort to cleanse the pain. It was getting difficult to breathe, and a headache had formed above her left eye. Her hands twitched, resisting the urge to wipe away the sweat and grime that made an unbearable situation that much worse.

Purple eyes darted to and from, efficiently categorizing the threat level of her surroundings. The pain brought about from every eye movement was determinedly ignored. Despite her aches, pains, and exhaustion, she could not allow herself any slip ups. To fail now, after so much hard work, was unthinkable.

She was determining the risk inherent in moving to a new area when a loud crash erupted from the north. Birds squawked in surprise and fear, exploding out of the trees en mass. Underneath the commotion, she heard the chilling pops of a new chase beginning. She was halfway up and ready to bolt before she caught herself. Tension threatened to overwhelm her as the sounds of a ruthless hunt headed in her direction.

She swallowed thickly, squashing her instinct to take off running and forced herself to freeze. They were nearly in sight when a yell, followed by a crash, sounded out and all movement abruptly ceased. She didn't dare move or even breathe as she strained her hearing. She crouched lower, legs trembling with the effort as they dredged up strength she didn't have to support her. There was no sign of the hunters, but that meant little.

This had turned into a contest of skill and patience. Moving when her better armed, better skilled, and better rested enemy was in such close proximity, when she had only her fists and legs for weapons, was a gamble of lower odds than she could afford. She absently wished that they had fallen in close enough range that she could take out the hunter while her ally distracted it, but she wasn't one of the few luck favored. She would have to rely on plain hard work and what little luck she was granted.

Long minutes passed, so slow it felt as if she had been there for hours. She was about ready to give up when the hunter moved. There was no sound to betray the hunter, only a shadow of movement in the distance. She waited patiently for any signs of her position being betrayed. Her waiting, however, payed off. Sounds of animal life soon returned, and no human beside herself invaded the area.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, she sat down to rest and considered her options. Judging from the sun's movements, she had been out here for four hours. The terrain had gotten incredibly dense and steep, and personal experience told her that she was about halfway up the mountain closest to the school. If she continued northeast, there would be a waterfall that had a small cave hidden half a mile further down. In the opposite direction, there was a gorge that made a perfect place to hide, and the worst place to get trapped.

Neither, unfortunately, was close, and hunger was starting to set in next to the fatigue already taking its toll on her abused body. For all the time she had once spent in these wilds, she was no ranger, and only vague memories and long buried instincts kept her in the game this long. She was fast approaching her limit, and the danger was at its greatest level. With so many others having been taken out, the hunters were free to focus on the few of them left, and she had a bad feeling that the prey was quickly becoming outnumbered.

Running a hand through her now bright orange hair (for further stealth training, they had been told as they were handed complete uniforms of a matching color, but the smirks on the hunter's faces led them to believe otherwise) she decided that she would travel back south along the stream fed from the waterfall.

Decision made, she took a minute to shove aside her pain, steady her breathing, and refocus her concentration. Once prepared she headed down the mountain, quickly but carefully. Her opponents would see her long before she saw them, thanks to the eye-searing brightness of the outfit. The color of her jumpsuit may have been dulled by the dirt and mud collected on it, but she was still frightfully obvious among the green foliage. She had no plan, no goal, beyond surviving for as long as possible. They had been given no directive beyond "hide."

Making her way through the trees, she spotted large movement out of the corner of her eye. Throwing herself to the ground she froze as her heart raced, hoping that it had been her imagination. She could hear no footsteps above the sound of the trickling stream, and the area remained otherwise silent.

Getting up slowly, she had enough time to determine that the area was clear before she heard a pop, followed by pain exploding from her stomach. Her shoulder and neck were hit with equally bruising force, and the last thing she recalled before the world turning black was the crunching of leaves signifying the presence of a hunter.

**~Several Hours Later~**

Shizuku bolted up, causing the world to spin dangerously and her stomach to rebel furiously. Face pale, she curled up and fell back onto the floor.

Gingerly testing her range of movement, she rapidly came to the conclusion that she had nearly died at some point. No one could feel this much pain and _not _have come to the edge of death. Her legs felt like they had hundred pound weights strapped on them and her feet burned. The trembling in her arms and shoulders refused to stop, even though they felt just as heavy as her legs. The muscle aches associated with prolonged running were making themselves known with a vengeance. Even if she could manage to move her limbs, the pain would stop her short. The aching in her head was even worse, and there was an odd ringing in her ears. The lack of food and water, along with the heat, destroyed any source of energy she could have used. It was incredibly hard to think when just moving made her sick. Her throat ached, and she knew without a doubt that she had a large bruise covering a good portion of it. She vaguely recalled being hit on her shoulder and stomach as well, but it was hard to pinpoint the pain from the bruises amongst the rest of her injuries.

The most concerning thing was that despite the very obvious fact that she was awake, the world was still pitch black. Taking the time to try to focus on something beyond her tenderness, she also realized that she was not alone.

"What happened?" she managed to croak out painfully. Her throat must have taken a harder hit than she thought, because those two words alone were difficult to get out.

"Ah, Miyamoto! So you're the one they dragged in."

"Welcome back to the realm of the living."

"Not that any of us want to particularly _be _here at the moment."

"The room or the realm?"

"Both. Please give me back my pain-free oblivion."

"Stop whining. And to answer your question we are...here."

"...That's helpful."

"We got caught, we got tossed into a dark room, we are awaiting the Captain's judgment. Not much else to say there."

"Are we waiting for everyone to be brought in then?"

"Looks like. Horrible punishment for those who were captured early."

The conversation went off on a tangent, and she was left to nurse her bruises in silence. Wherever they were, it must have been a decently sized room if it was holding all the guards currently stationed at Tenchi. No one was quite sure _why _they had been taken and put into a dark room, but they'd been told to stay and none of them were inclined to try and go against that order.

Terrible things happened to those who didn't obey the Captain.

Shizuku managed to doze off, minutes, maybe even hours, passing by while she recuperated. She couldn't join into many conversations because of her throat, but most of the other guards were just as injured as she was. Talking tended to start up whenever a new person joined them, then tapered off after a few minutes, followed by long periods of silence until the person actually woke up.

"Wake up you lazy bums! Your rest is over!"

Every single person in the room groaned, whined, whimpered, or yelped when the lights were switched on without warning. Several people, Shizuku included, cradled their heads in mind numbing pain as whatever head injury they had revolted against the sudden brightness.

The Captain looked inordinately pleased with herself for the reactions she'd garnered. Her and the Kaicho really were similar souls, though thankfully the younger one wasn't nearly as sadistic minded as the Captain. Yet.

"Done wasting time? Move out! Hurry up! I'm not going to wait here forever!"

The less injured people got up hastily, followed sedately by those who were trying to keep the world from spinning too much. Shizuku stepped gingerly, desperate to keep down her rising nausea. She was fairly certain she was suffering from a concussion of some sorts, and when she added that to her other injuries, she could safely say that moving was _not _recommended at the moment.

"Weaklings, help the injured walk before they topple over!" the Captain growled in annoyance. "They, at least, had the skill to put up a damned good fight."

Some of the less injured guards glared at the Captain, though discreetly so as not to be noticed. Sagara, a newer guard, helped Shizuku along, wincing whenever he looked at her. She tried not to think of how she must look. It couldn't be any worse than she _felt_, but that was little consolation.

The walk to wherever they were headed seemed to take years due to her injuries. She couldn't even say _where _they were going, since she was using all her concentration to walk and breathe. The training facility wasn't that big, though it had the infirmary, dojo, dorms, locker rooms, and spa all connected to it.

She was vaguely aware of walking through a door, but she didn't pay it any attention until Sagara abruptly stopped. Her mind still focusing solely on walking, she stumbled and came so close to falling all together that she blanked out for a moment. Once it registered that they had arrived, she slowly looked up to observe their destination.

It was very orange was her first thought.

The second was that the neon lights were extremely painful considering her condition.

The third was that the smell of food was having an equally painful effect on her stomach.

Her mind sluggishly processed everything separately, then things clicked into place.

"Oh. A party." someone noted dazedly.

The group didn't know what to do with the realization. This was the last thing they had expected to see, and they were finding it difficult to switch out of work mode. The Captain ignored all of them, shouting out orders for the nurses present to take care of the worst ones.

Shizuku came out of her daze when Ai, who had made a beeline to her, took Sagara's position as walking staff.

"You look like hell kid." she said. Raising an eyebrow at the moan she got in response, she shook her head and helped her stumble over to an area sectioned off for those in need of medical attention.

The girl stared blankly at her surroundings while Ai went to work, chatting lightly as she did so. A distant part of her noted the overdone Halloween decorations that littered the area. Everything in the room was decorated for the holiday, including the medical area.

"You dizzy? Got a headache? Feel sick? Ears ringing?" Getting a positive answer (more or less) to each question, the nurse frowned. "Concussion." Ai announced after she shied away from the flashlight. "I'll get you some ice and medicine. Sit tight and don't fall asleep."

It took a while for the worst of the pain to fade away even with the medicine. Moving and eating were still off-limits, (Ai's order of no alcohol had earned her a puzzled look) but she was happy observing the festivities in her little corner. Hitsugi had showed up soon after she was taken care of, but she'd managed to convince her friend to join in the fun while she rested. She'd resisted at first, but eventually gave in when Shizuku said that talking hurt and she was better off alone until she recovered some more.

She tried not to fret about the disappointed look that overcame Hitsugi's face, but everything she said was the understated truth. Hitsugi deserved to have some fun and besides, she couldn't tolerate being anywhere near the food.

"Shizuuuukuuuu." Speak of the devil. Literally, as that was the costume she wore. It was rather sedate considering the ideas she'd been spouting all month. She must want to save them for the school functions coming.

"Yes Hitsugi-san?" she questioned tiredly. She most definitely did not have the energy for this. At least her throat hurt less due to the medicine, although her voice still had a harshness to it to signify its pain.

Instead of replying, Hitsugi dropped herself next to her injured friend and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I miss you." she whined. Shizuku wondered if she had been drinking.

"I've been here the whole time."

"Exactly. You have been _here _the whole time. I had gone through all that trouble to prepare a costume for you and now it has gone to waste!" Shizuku couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for missing out on that. The "costumes" her partner usually prepared for her were the type she would expect to receive from that ninja-girl Kuga. They were most definitely not fit to be worn by normal people like Shizuku.

"My apologies." Her answer was ignored. Hitsugi knew it wasn't sincere.

"I admit to some astonishment. It is not your usual practice to go to such lengths during guard training."

"Ah. We decided that since the Captain was vague on the punishment for those who did not perform as well as expected, it was best to curb her temper and last as long as possible."

"It seems as if not everyone followed that line of thought."

"The newer transfers and recruits were advised to do so. Whether they listened or not was of no concern to the rest of us."

"Careful Shizuku. That was almost resentful."

"Sorry."

"No matter. At any rate, Uryuu-san said that you would need at least a week to heal enough to move normally."

Shizuku looked at her in slight dismay. "That's about what I expected. I'm sorry. It will be a few days before I can ring the bell." Normally she would have never admitted that her ability to perform her duties was sub par, but the concussion made her speak truthfully. She just couldn't muster up the energy or emotions to act as usual.

"Your health is more important." Hitsugi said plainly.

Even through her pain, enough embarrassment rose up to make her look away. She became very aware of the arm that had tightened around her, forcing the two closer than she was comfortable with. "You should rejoin the others. I'm probably not very good company right now."

"You're always good company Shizuku." Hitsugi smiled. "I want to take the time to admire the eye-searing color of your outfit as well. And your hair. It's not very often that I get to see you in such a manner."

Shizuku huffed. "I didn't have a choice." she grumbled half-heartedly.

"And besides, the others have decided to punish Den-san for falling asleep." Her partner rested her head on her shoulder, mindful of the bruises and aches. The horns for her outfit turned out to be stuffed, though they still poked unpleasantly at her sensitive bruises.

"Why would he sleep? He was hardly injured at all." The usual annoyance that would have leaked through was killed in the face of the distraction that Hitsugi's action was creating.

"He may have had too much alcohol, but the others followed your line of thinking and came to an agreement that he deserved some retribution." she laughed lightly against her neck.

"Wouldn't you usually want to watch this kind of thing?"

"A change of clothing was required, and I am not interested in watching _that _sort of mischief unless _you _are involved." she shook her head in rejection of the idea. She had yet to switch positions, and the sensation caused a small stab of pain to shoot from her shoulder.

"Oh. Hopefully that will scare the newbies into acting seriously. They're far too cocky for their limited abilities and experience." she said, pointedly ignoring the second part of the sentence. She was certain that Hitsugi pouted at her failed attempt to get a reaction.

"...I do not think it a good idea that you converse with many people while suffering from the effects of the concussion." she commented after recovering from the let down.

"What?"

"Nothing. However, I am relieved to know that you approve the use of your outfit."

"My outfit?"

"Yes. Den-san will undoubtedly be quite infuriated when he awakes. He is a most sound sleeper." Hitsugi snickered in a way that almost made her feel sorry for the guard. The sound combined with the outfit was incredibly unnerving.

"What. What kind of outfit did you get?" She had a horrible feeling that it had been the usual type of "gift."

"Merely a cat suit. Though "suit" implies a lot more material than it truly has."

As if that was any surprise. "...Why don't you ever get me normal costumes?"

"Why ever would I want to do that?" Her partner drew them even closer, if that was possible, and smirked at her. "I would very much approve of you showcasing for me."

"I refuse!"

**~Two Days Later~**

Shizuku gingerly lowered herself onto the chair, not yet fully recovered from the survival exercise. Every muscle was sore, and anything like laughing or coughing caused her stomach to ache furiously.

"If you want, I can carry you to the office today." Hitsugi sang, on the verge of laughing at the younger girl's slow motions.

"I'm fine. I just need to...move more." She would have been more than happy to not move at all, honestly. Unfortunately, she couldn't get away from her responsibilities, and neither would she give her partner the satisfaction of having a good reason to act on any of her comments. Her body may eventually recover, but no amount of time would heal the mortification of being carried around the school.

"My offer still stands. Oh, and we have mail." The older girl dropped an envelope onto the table. "Pictures from the party."

Curious, Shizuku grabbed the envelope and pulled out the contents. They were indeed pictures, and she browsed through them intently. They were odd, what with all the guards covered in bandages and bruises while bright orange or wearing all black. Costumes had been pulled out at some point, though she couldn't remember that having happened. Pumpkin styled cakes, cupcakes decorated with fake bugs, odd-shaped cookies, and drinks that looked like potions were everywhere in the pictures, and she was sorry she wasn't able to eat any. Antics with various decorations had her laughing painfully, and the pictures of Den in the suit (which she did remember) had her disgusted as much as she was amused.

She turned bright red when she stumbled on the pictures of Hitsugi leaning on her and immediately passed over them. Hitsugi whined at her and stole the pictures so that she could hang them up. Shizuku gave chase, putting up a good fight in her condition. In the end, however, the pictures were stashed away to be brought out later, and she hoped that Hitsugi would forget about them.

It wasn't very likely, but she had to have hope, didn't she?

**~End~**

**Happy Halloween, I guess. Not very Halloween related though. Whoops.**

**Err. To any who already read the latest chapter, and the note, in Tigers, it still stands. (If not, shame on you.) This is an anomaly as will be explained below. To those who have been through the process of buying a house, you know how stressful it is. Well, today we were supposed to close on said house, and then I could start moving and cleaning and all that fun stuff.**

**We didn't close. In fact, we are in very real danger (for the millionth time during this closing process, I swear to God) of the deal dying. The mortgage company told us today that guidelines changed, and we have to have twice as much money, right now, or else the deal is dead. As you can imagine, none of us were happy. That's a lot of money we have to make appear out of fucking nowhere. So the loan officer, the realtor, and the underwriter are all frantically getting us set up with another company and getting this thing through NOW, because if we don't get this house we don't get _any _house after this, because it will be impossible. The loan terms have technically expired yesterday, and the lock on the house two days ago, and we're stretching everything to the damn limit. **

**It's not a fun time at the moment, on top of everything else I'm going through. I have spent the day alternating between anger, nausea inducing depression, and complete numbness. After my harsh bout of cardio yesterday, I did more today because I just can't handle that amount of stress without some type of outlet. (The screen starts spinning when I stare too long, and I almost fell down the stairs a couple times, so it was quite the effective workout.) However, since I can't do that _all _day without fainting from exhaustion, and none of my other outlets are available or effective, I finished this fic that's been on my hard drive for a little while. It was quite easy, since I can relate to Shizuku's soreness at the moment. I'd promised someone a fic by Halloween, and though I know I'm not being held to that promise, I decided to get this done on top of the Tigers chapter. I'll be completely gone from FFN until March after this however. (Thanks to the Kindle 3G and its incredibly basic HTML browser, I at least have permanent access to my email, if nothing else.)**


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